You might think there would be little to say about the next Transformers film given that it’s still at the early stages of scripting. But that’s never stopped Michael Bay before, and he’s been once more happily talking up some of what he wants to see in the new movie.
First up, something we already knew: the film will boast a new human cast reacting to the giant robots doing their thing. “It’s a new cast,” Bay tells the LA Times. “We’ve moving on to something different.”
But don’t go throwing the word “reboot” around. Bay’s thinking differently: “It’s not a reboot, that’s maybe the wrong word,” he says. “I don’t want to say reboot because then people will think we’re doing a Spider-Man and starting from the beginning. We’re not. We’re taking the story that you’ve seen — the story we’ve told in three movies already — and we’re taking it in a new direction. But we’re leaving those three as the history. It all still counts. I met with the writer before I went off to do Pain And Gain and we talked about a bunch of ideas. We let that simmer for a bit. He’s been thinking about stuff and now we’re getting back together next week to see what we’ve got and to see if it gels.”
As for what those ideas might be, he’s still being understandably tight lipped on specifics, but he does seem to be pointing towards Optimus and co heading properly off-planet.
“That feels like the way to go, doesn’t it? I want to go a little off but I don’t want to go too sci-fi. I still want to keep it grounded. That’s what works in these movies, that’s what makes it accessible.”
So could we be taking a trip to Cybertron, assuming there’s anything left to see? No one can say, but we do know the trip won’t be flying first class, as Bay also revealed Paramount is tightening the budget on this one, shaving around $30 million from what it spent on Dark Of The Moon. Still, that doesn't exactly put it in indie territory, and we’re sure that if this truly is Bay’s final round with the robots, he’ll go out with a bang. Several bangs. And gun shots. And car crashes. And punches. And…