It’s been 10 years since Michael Bay and Paramount brought a 1984 cartoon that began a fandom that dominated the entire world and brought it to the big screen. It sparked a whole new generation of fans, fans like myself and millions of others. With its huge box office success – the Transformers movies became an unstoppable summer blockbuster and nothing has changed that. As we get closer to the release of Transformers: The Last Knight, director Michael Bay took his time to write a letter talking about the writers room that was started in early 2015. He also mentions on how he keeps getting drawn back into directing the movies.
A small part of the letter states that this might actually be Michael Bay’s last Transformers movie:
“It’s bittersweet for me. With every Transformers film, I’ve said it would be my last. I see the 120 million fans around the world who see these movies, the huge theme park lines to the ride and the amazing Make- A-Wish kids who visit my sets, and it somehow keeps drawing me back. I love doing these movies. This film was especially fun to shoot. But, this time might really be it. So I’m blowing this one out.“
What do you think? Will this finally be Michael Bay’s last movie? Read the whole letter after the jump & don’t forget to check out the new Super Bowl TV Spot releasing tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM EST.
“I’ve been living in this franchise for over 10 years now. For Transformers: The Last Knight, we put together a writers’ room designed to greatly expand our mythology, integrating our films in a whole new way. Every movie will interlink.
It was a huge task to expand mythology from the beginning of the world throughout history. We had a great team of writers: Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind); Art Marcum & Matt Holloway (Iron Man); Ken Nolan (Black Hawk Down); Zak Penn (Ready Player One); Lindsey Beer (Barbie); Geneva Robertson-Dworet (Tomb Raider); Christina Hodson (Bumblebee); Steven DeKnight (Daredevil, Smallville); Jeff Pinkner (The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Lost); and Andrew Barrer & Gabriel Ferrari (Ant-Man).
Through the summer of 2015, they worked in a huge space on the Paramount lot, surrounded by over 10,000 concept images from the franchise’s history: the movies, cartoons, and comic books. They had a life-size Bumblebee, a Megatron head, and many other props staring them down. We pulled from everything. It was a fan’s dream room.
We brought in Transformers historians from Hasbro to educate them on where Transformers has been – so that they could figure out where it can go.
I can safely say that there’s never been a Transformers film with the huge visual scope and expansive mythology as this movie, The Last Knight.
It’s bittersweet for me. With every Transformers film, I’ve said it would be my last. I see the 120 million fans around the world who see these movies, the huge theme park lines to the ride and the amazing Make- A-Wish kids who visit my sets, and it somehow keeps drawing me back. I love doing these movies. This film was especially fun to shoot. But, this time might really be it. So I’m blowing this one out.
It’s a final chapter and a new beginning. Here’s the writers’ log line:
The hunted will become heroes. Heroes will become villains. Only one world will survive: theirs, or ours.“
GizmoTron
Well no one knows that, movie scripts are written and rewritten all the time throughout production, but the point was Hasbro has plans to continue making these movies with or without Bay and that people hoping for some kind of reboot are going to have to keep waiting.
Autobot Burnout
Im not denying it happened, I just question if anything actually established in the room will be exactly the same by the time it gets into a film.
GizmoTron
It still happened. Hasbro is going to move forward with more movies whether Bay's involved or not.
03Mach1
Pffftt!! Logic AND common sense in a movie related post? Who do you think you are?
Galvatross
Whatever the Transformers films do going forward, I think it's obvious that they should have nothing to do with four wildly successful live action films that tens of millions of people if not more go to see every time, and their success is really determined by thousands of Transformers fans on sites like this.
Anyway, I like Bay. He seems like a cool guy, and I have heard he is a great guy to talk to. He has many strengths as a filmmaker that go unappreciated. He has his own visual style. He uses practical effects whenever possible. He has improved in many ways I think as the films have gone on. Finally, I think in his own way he is a fan of the Transformers brand. That's not to say his films are everyone's cup of tea or that he loves everything about it, but I think he does care about making Transformers films that the general public and parts of the fandom enjoy.
Edwardmus Prime
Optimus was going to put down Megatron and even criticized his asking for mercy. Optimus and the Autobots shot the Decepticons into molten rock—that seems like intent to kill right there, even if they didn't succeed. Optimus has tried to kill bots in the Sunbow cartoon. I have the episodes on my DVR and have watched them recently.
Uncle Madness
Yeah, trying to understand supporters of these films who don't even care if popular Autobots with cool alt-modes are reduced to transforming in "Gremlins" is as pointless as hoping for a good Bayformer's film in the first place. With that type of feedback and Paramount giving him more and more money each film you really can't blame Bay for not really giving a shit.
Autobot Burnout
They wouldn't have kept bribing M. Bay to keep directing the films if they had any interest in 'evolving' things.
JohnRedcorn
Well then TF films are never gonna evolve, and like when mentioned before, that may be the reason why Bay is leaving – series may diverge from the human drama and focus on the TF characters, just as modern comic book movies are focusing on their iconic characters.
Autobot Burnout
Yes, but Avatar was also an alien retelling of Phocohantas, essentially.
You're never going to have a TF film that takes place off of Earth. They're too dependent on human drama.
JohnRedcorn
Neither was Avatar. Most of the movie was a CGI cartoon.
Autobot Burnout
But then they wouldn't be live action films.
JohnRedcorn
I think it really is the last movie for Bay. My theory: With the new writing team, they are going to deviate stylistically and tonally from Michael Bay's. The future storylines are going to more in line with modern comic movies and be more space fantasy than the grounded reality that Bay is glued to. I wouldn't be surprised if the one of the future movies are going to be completely CGI without the need of having a practical set director.
Exinferis
I've been watching G1 since I was 8 years old sonny Jim, and what you're describing is not what I've been watching! I think you're watching the Bayverse movies and projecting those onto G1, which, I assume, you do not watch very often! Optimus has never killed another being intentionally, no matter which version you're talking about, until that scene in DOTM. "One shall stand, one shall fall" does not equate to, "One shall live, one shall die" no matter how you try and twist it.
Oh, and Optimus is not a soldier. Orion Pax (look it up if you need to) was a regular guy doing a regular job before he was pulled into a war he didn't want to be part of. He took the role on because that's just who he is; he's an heroic leader who will fight for the rights of every being, not just the Autobots/Cybertrons.
"Freedom is the right of all sentient beings."
Also, I have to say, I don't know if English is your first language, but the more heated you get, the more difficult it is to understand you, so you might want to take a breath between Trump-style posts so you can construct a sentence that others can understand.
My biggest beef with movie Drift isn't that he's a Veyron (because that's a spectacular car!), it's that the damnable toy they made wasn't a tripple-changer! Why put a tripple-changer in a film and then release the same character twice, each with just one alt. mode? That was just stupid! They could have remoulded the T30 Springer to look more or less like a 21st century car and the chopper mode would have been fine as it was. Still call it Drift if you want, paint it blue for all I care, but make it a bloody tripple-changer!
(I say all that as I've no connection to the comic books, but I can see why a fan of those would be miffed at what happened to Drift.)
Autobot Burnout
Dude, I'm not kidding, Paramount did not do well last year with it's big films.
We've been waiting. Ten years. Why do movie fans get to hog the franchise for literally a third of its existence?
No, they really haven't. Outside of the movies, of course. I'm not surprised given you don't understand why Drift being non-Japanese cars while being a Japanese warrior is a major issue. Like, seriously, just look at ROTF Bludgeon – they got THAT right down to him being a Type 90 Japanese tank!
…those are ninjas.
So now you're just flat out insulting me because I'm not backing down?
Again, you're insulting me for doing something on a fansite for Transformers.
You're telling me that something as basic as key character attributes are not a big deal? In a franchise where, above all else, the entire fucking point is about robots who turn into vehicles? Alt. mode choice is critical to the look and subtle character traits of Transformers, I.E. Jazz always goes for a stylish alt. mode because he wants to look cool, so he's always going to go for a Porsche or some snappy coupe over a four door sedan or a hatchback.
Furthermore, alt. mode association improves character depth on a whole deeper level. One you evidently are refusing to acknowledge exists.
This has nothing to do with 'fanboyism', it's about legitamtely good character development and writing. Transforming is the entire core concept of this franchise and the impression I get is you only regard it as a mere afterthought.
Hound89
While iam sure youbwoukd enjoy that its not gonna happen, studios with actualnflops are going strong , and paramount is still cleaning the fuck up with the tf movies no matter how you try and spin it
It actualy is most franchises dont even have that. And if you dont like those tough you got to wait, your not specaik
you both can and they have 100 times befor and 100 after
and katanas couldnt cut through boulders, they myths andd iconorgaphy trump realisim, popular culture veiw the samurai as fast and sleek able to cut down multiple enmies and sheat their blade faster then the eye can see.
You are using a bullshit argument hear and you know it
dosent meannits not stupid and that youncan't be called out on it.
Just because you feel its a big deal dosent make it one, and while you can argue the oposite is also true, keep in mind no one makes fun of fan boys for NOT obsessing about things
Autobot Burnout
Unless Paramount goes belly up first.
No, I was asking you, since here it doesn't make sense you list RID when you already said you hated aligned. Earth Wars is the mobile freemium (IIRC) game, the machina series is probably the one thing in this franchise people hate more than the movies on average, and the G1-based IDW comics.
That's…not a lot of variety
And this is exactly the problem. You can't just shove characters into any given alt. mode if there isn't a subtle but strong connection to what those characters are in terms of traits. The car is still the character and you act like this isn't true.
Samurai were not fast or sleek. Also he's not a Bugatti anymore so…yeah, argument sunk.
You do understand that nitpicking about that kind of shit is what we do here on A TRANSFORMERS FAN FORUM, right?
Hound89
There will be a conclusion to the current story if they add more after that is a diffrent question.
earth wars, rid, the machina series, idw
You have options
indont knownwhat you think om implying but iam flat out stating that drifts alt mode is irrellvant.
The bugatti reprsents drift cause that is simplly what he turns into, the conection isncreated from there. In drifts case the only realnrequirment is that it goes some what fast and that its sleek.
No one saw the movie ans went "a bugati is a european car whybdose the alien samurai robot turn into it, my suspension of disbelife is DEDTROYED" well at least no one who wasn't looking for nitpicks
Autobot Burnout
That doesn't even address my question. What if there isn't another full change in the franchise? This is the direction Hasbro's been heading ever since aligned was supposed to be some multi-branching continuity thing so they could avoid having to start from scratch ever again.
Maybe you need to consider that some stories simply will never be finished. The franchise can't afford to just turn into The Young and The Restless in terms of never actually having final plot conclusion.
And what are those other options besides the movies?
So he could turn into a a taco selling food van and still be Drfit? Or maybe a backhoe? Or even the Edsel? Hell, let's say the Striker Z, even – clearly the idea that they're even still characters when in alt. mode and those alt. modes should be a reflection of the characters since they can change said alt. modes at whim can not exist in what you are implying is important about the films.
Hound89
Trukk not munkkyy!