Transformers Live Action Movie Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura recently spoke with MTV regarding Transformers 4 and the potential New Trilogy.
Talking about Transformers 4, the producer said “There’s a lot of new elements. I wouldn’t say we’ve completely changed this world, and yet it’s completely different. There are new characters, new situations. I don’t think we revisit a single location. Michael really has a great way of approaching this thing.” He also said “The intention is this is new world, with new characters, with Mark Wahlberg leading us. It’s a different movie, but a lot of the things that you love about the other ones are joining the ride.”
Mr. di Bonaventura also mentioned that he would like to see Director Michael Bay sticking around for the next two Transformers Movies as well; hinting a potential New Trilogy with Transformers 5 and Transformers 6:
“I can’t speak for Michael. I hope he would [direct the next two]. It would be great, but it’s certainly something in our design of this,” he said. “It’s going to be an ongoing story, so the possibility, again, as long as the audience shows up for us, there’s a lot of story still to be told.”You can read the original article at MTV and enjoy a video of the interview as well.
Ash from Carolina
With the variety of ways that Hollywood has experimented with when it comes to freshening up a franchise or reinvigorating a franchise perhaps it's just easier to lump things as reboot rather than search around for exactly the right word to describe it. In the end only the continuity geeks will really care exactly what sort of change it actually is since the general public will just see it as a reboot.
Although not being a reboot doesn't save a franchise from having to repeat the origin stuff. If they think that Transformers 4 will bring a large audience of new viewers then at some point expect Optimus to explain the origin thing to the new humans. Even in the Potter films they often repeated the Harry Potter/Lord Voldemort origin just in case the series picked up new viewers.
Moy
Win.
VokVisitor
Reboot means starting over from the top. Like Batman Begins or The Amazing Spider-Man.
What Bay, Di Bonaventura, et al are describing is not technically a reboot but something called a "soft reboot"
like X-Men: First Class, and (a perfect example) Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
In a soft reboot, old characters, storylines and designs get cycled out and replaced with new ones, typically because the creative team has changed. However these changes take place in-universe for narrative reasons, and they don't re-hash origin stories.
You can think of it like in Doctor Who when the Doctor regenerates, changes the TARDIS interior, and gets a new companion. The style of the story has shifted, but everything that happened before is still technically canon – it's just that nobody really mentions it again.
moreprimeland
"To boot or reboot?, that is the question"
Whatever, you know we're going to see it either way.
InstantClazzic
for the matrix please put in magnus.
Autovolt 127
^This. and the fact they overstock them so damn much. the 2007 movie was the first time since Star Wars where the toylines based on a movie actually sold out like crazy and unfortunately everyone else has been replicating it since.
Gingerchris
Quality is falling even when there isn't a movie. I guess the movies didn't bring as much money and new customers as Hasbro hoped otherwise they'd not be having to cut so much now.
I think like with off-movie times there also needs to be a better plan for when there is a movie out. There's a fairly short window when the film is in cinemas to sell figures from it so perhaps it needs bigger and varied waves out for shorter than small similar waves that sit around for months and block other new stuff being ordered and then stores lose interest because the earlier stock isn't shifting. These movies aren't really the magic selling bullet they used to be and are perhaps now kinda dragging the non-movie stuff down with it.
There shouldn't be movie stuff hanging around shelves this long after the film has come and gone. Somebody somewhere got their sums wrong and it's just going to keep happening and affect stuff that isn't movie product.
But maybe, and this brings things back to the topic of the thread, a fresh start with the film style will bring a little of the selling power of the first movie back.
Don't worry – I'm sure you can get some cream for that. Or at least a special cushion for when you sit down. At least you're finding it funny, so that helps. They say laughter is the best medicine, perhaps even for cases of butthurt.
Omnius
Iron Man 2 toys are still plentiful on shelves here, after four years. The main problem with the toylines for most movies (as I see it) is that once the movie is off the big screen, everyone's moved onto the next big thing. You need something on the level of Star Wars toys to buck that trend.
Ash from Carolina
Lately it seems like movie toy lines are more of a curse than a blessing. Avengers and Spiderman toys still sitting on the shelves means many retailers haven't bothered to stock anything else Marvel related. GI Joe nearly died as a toy line when the first film toys flopped. Even with Transformers it felt like retailers weren't stocking very hard around Christmas because they were still upset over how the Dark of the Moon toys didn't move.
Even the quality of the toys seem like they take a nosedive when it's movie time.
Rumblestorm
All the butthurt here is so hilarious XD.
Gingerchris
I dunno so much about that. Depends if stores want any more TF movie toys. Or at least TF movie toys in any significant numbers. They seemed to be kinda reluctant near the end of the DotM run to get the remaining stuff in, and quite a bit of it is still kicking about even this long after DotM came and went.
I mean I know there'll be movie toys, but there'd be TF toys anyway, movie or not. And the movie toys will likely steamroller over other figures so it won't be so much 'more toys' as just 'different toys'.
Shizuka
More films = more toys and sadly more poor games by High Moon Studios.
I thought people would be happy at the potential of Hot Rod being introduced.
Gilgamesh
All this back and forth is to hint on the title of the movie.
Reboots in disguise.
Aeronnz
Not the same location twice? Sounds a lot like the other three. Definitely excited!
Akumaxv
I think we can be sure of a few things:
– There will be a Tf movie
– Micheal Bay will come back to direct 5 and 6, because he's getting a boatload of money to do these movies, so why shouldn't he.
– There will be robots
– There will be humans
I don't get why anything else matters. Reboot? Not a reboot? Story? No story.
People will still go see it even those that say they aren't, otherwise, they'd have nothing to b1tch about.
Gingerchris
This is true.
But then these threads are also so entertaining when they happen that I'd hate it if everyone just waited for something more concrete before posting their opinions.
Krueger
I have no doubt that Michael Bay is going to direct another Transformers trilogy.
Ephland
We don't know that's what they're doing. Not really sensible to define it as such when we have no reason to think that is what is going on.
If TF4 takes place in the same continuity (which has been stated by Bay and others over and over as being the case), then no… everything we knew before is staying exactly the same. If you want to call that a reboot, then by all means go ahead. But it sounds incredibly silly.
vektsilver
I really wish an actual fan of transformers was involved in the story/directing part of it.
If ILM didnt do the job they do the story line would fall flat and the movie would fail. I love EYE candy but come on give me some good ol transformers characters comrodery and wow.
The best part of all three movies to me still was Blackouts initial approach and reveal despite how much the transformation was fudged.
If I had any request for the new movie because i figure good story is out of the question is to have some transformations that are 80% real so it doesnt feel like a movie magic mess of parts flying around that just disjoints the suspension of disbelief. Hell if Takara can figure out how to make a movie prime actually transform like they did with the leader figure why not use some of that to figure out a better transformation for the movie.
FatalT 71
I almost blew Cheerios all over my laptop screen….
Translation: We're milking this cow till it shrivels up and dies!