Every time Michael Bay confirms he’s directing a new Transformers instalment, it seems as though he’s also announcing that this will definitely be his last time running around with the robots. He’s preparing to make the fifth film and, as always, is convinced it’s his final fling with the franchise.
Talking with Rolling Stone while busily finishing his latest, based-on-reality thriller 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers Of Benghazi, Bay mentions Transformers, and the magazine’s visit to his palatial Miami home also finds him in conference with a team from ILM about early effects work for the film, including a crashed alien spaceship and a new dumper truck robot featuring a cloak. Yes, we’re definitely back in Bay Transformers territory.
He’s quick to add, however, that he really, truly wants to step off the tiring train that is the franchise this time. "Transformers, I still have a great time. It's fun to do a movie that 100 million people will see. But this is the last one. I have to pass the reins to someone else."
Paramount, of course, is keeping the flame alive, gathering writers to dream up ideas for a range of films, with Art Marcum and Matt Holloway at work alongside Black Hawk Down’s Ken Nolan on the latest script, which Bay will turn his full attention to once he’s finished promoting 13 Hours. Taking aim at an unspecified 2017 release date, the film is expected to open up the Transformers universe even further to help spur future instalments and spin-offs. As for Bay? He wants to do other things. "J.J. Abrams told me, 'You're the only guy that could do this.' But it's time to move on. One more." 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers Of Benghazi will be out in the UK on January 29.