While back in 2021 we learned that another Transformers movie was in the works with Angel Manuel Soto as director with the intention to keep the plot outside the Bayverse. We haven’t had any remarkable update so far, but Angel Manuel Soto was interviewed by Collider.com and Blue Beetle’s director shared some information about this Transformers project.
“I pitched them an idea. I read a script, I didn’t like it, and I pitched them a whole different idea, and they liked it, but then it was too late. So they told me, “Yeah, we cannot do your idea, but we like your idea, so we want you to write the idea and then direct it.” So, we’ve been in that process, but the writers’ strike happened. [Laughs] It will be different, it will be different.”
It seems we will have to wait some more time to finally see a real update on this movie. Read the full interview here or a text only version after the break. Let us know your impressions on the 2005 Boards!
Ángel Manuel Soto has been entirely focused on working on Blue Beetle over the year, but the filmmaker is already setting sights on his next project. Paramount has been busy coming up with ideas to breathe new life into the Transformers franchise, and it looks like the previously announced collaboration between the studio and the director is still on the horizon. During a recent interview with Collider, Soto talked about the status of his Transformers project, and how different it could be from the rest of the franchise once it enters development:
“I pitched them an idea. I read a script, I didn’t like it, and I pitched them a whole different idea, and they liked it, but then it was too late. So they told me, “Yeah, we cannot do your idea, but we like your idea, so we want you to write the idea and then direct it.” So, we’ve been in that process, but the writers’ strike happened. [Laughs] It will be different, it will be different.”
While Soto sounds excited about the prospect of his new Transformers movie finally becoming a reality, it might take a while for his idea to make its way to the big screen. As the director mentioned, the ongoing dual strike organized by the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA has been causing delays for many major projects spread out across the industry, as the laborers fight for better working conditions and proper compensation in the age of streaming. With no clear end in sight, it may be a while before Soto can resume work on his Transformers spin-off.
Luke Stark
With recent news on his movie being on hold I hope it doesn't get scrapped
I hope his movie will be able to move forward
TFXProtector
Honestly? Disney is on the right track, effects-wise. The massive set they built for the Mandalorian (also used in Book Of Boba Fett and Ahsoka) is the way to go. Using Unreal Engine 5, entire scenes are compiled and composited on the fly, and fully rendered in one day. (For an excellent example of how this works, watch this video:
) Someone could work with Hasbro to design the robots so they're on it every step of the way, upload those CGI models into the system, and then let Unreal Engine 5 do its work. The actors could actually *SEE* the Transformers they're talking to, thus enhancing the performances, and there'd be minimal travel expenditures. With everything on a set, locations at the push of a button, and characters acting together in real time…a lot of the major hurdles would be gone.
Once you get that obstacle out of the way, you have far more resources and time to get the story right, nail the pacing, get the music right. Plus, with UE5, reshoots would be hours instead of a day, or days instead of a week. No having to fly around the world to make it happen, just throw 'em in the domed set, push a button, record.
I think these Hollywood types are so busy focusing on the flash and style and visuals and explosions that they've forgotten that you need connective tissue (story-wise) between scenes to make it a compelling experience. Too many studios these days go for the whole "Ooh! Ahh!" of it all and audiences want that mixed in (deftly, I might add) with explaining why Optimus is such a wise sage and wonderful leader and why the Autobots follow him into battle each and every time. They got him wrong from the get-go. They get most of them wrong, from the get-go. So it only makes sense that the rest of the movie they're in would be an absolute mess.
Super Mario won because, while it's not a great movie by any standard, it's a fun movie and a clear labor of love. When Nintendo signs off on something, you've proven to them that there's respect for the source material and that the endeavor is a labor of love. It made a billion dollars. It wasn't just that people had waited all these years for a legit Super Mario Bros. movie, it was that it was a love letter to Nintendo, Mario, and the fans. That meant something to the audience and entertained the kids. Transformers has never had that, and yes I'd include the 1986 movie in that as well.
Man Of Steel, while I enjoyed it, is not your usual Superman movie and it shows. It made bank, but it could've been a very massive success. I understand directors and writers put their own spin on things, but sometimes eschewing the source material has dire consequences. Michael Ende went to his grave heartbroken over how WB made both chunks of The Never Ending Story. (He'd have rolled over in his grave over the 3rd one, can't believe the person left in charge of his estate signed off on that one. Like, yow.)
But even at that, even if you nail the visuals and the material, you still have to have a compelling film. I don't know that Transformers, as a property, is compelling anymore. I think it could've been, I think they dropped the ball from the get-go and there's no recovering it. Certainly not at this point. While it brought new fans and new money into a very alive, thriving franchise, I do believe it did more harm than good when it was all said and done.
"Loud robot movie"
"Didja see that car robot movie thing?"
"I saw one of those, it was so loud and the girl was pretty and the boy was ugly and none of it made sense. Why do giant alien robots want a pair of glasses?"
Michael Bay making the movies for the horny, stupid teenage market (no, for real, he actually said this) was stupid. Had the movie been aimed at kids like SMB was, we could've organically grown into serious issues and darker material along the way. Instead, we got Snydered and Bay then steamrolled all of it and it's what people have come to expect from this franchise and they're sick of it. They're sick of Marvel, of Star Wars, of Indy, of all of it.
We're going back to a time of quiet contemplative films with actors of a much higher caliber. We're going to see more Cohen Brothers-level stuff over the "BAM! KAPOW!"-level stuff. People are just so tired of hollow spectacle and deafening soundtracks and bombastic scores. People want the movie to move them, to entertain them, to make it worth every penny of their dollars spent at the box office. It takes a rarity (SMB, Barbie, Oppenheimer) right now to get people stirring in their seats and opening their wallets.
I think anything Marvel, Star Wars, Star Trek, Transformers is pretty much coming to an end at this rate. I'd say they fare better on TV than they do at the box office. Perhaps it's time to start turning them back into shows and less multiplex fodder. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is by far the best Trek I've seen in a very, very long time. Musical episode misstep and everything. I loved Picard season 3, it was a wonderful love letter to the fans, but SNW just blows it out of the water. I haven't seen Trek this good since the end of the TNG/all of Voyager/most of Enterprise era. (I don't mention DS9 as I didn't watch it and it's never been my cup of tea.)
Transformers needs that in order to survive. Hollywood needs that in order to survive. Perhaps if writers were paid more, they'd do more. If, after all of this, the writing stays the same then go ahead and get rid of them. Bring in new people with new ideas.
Scorpio
Good point, and agreed. They definitely need to alter the process of how they are making these films
Rob
I don't know, it seems pretty obvious ROTB is getting a sequal. Probably a tighter budget of a sequal, but a sequal. I say ROTB2, bring it down to $150-$175 mil, keep it at 2 hours, and continue the focus on the robot centric story telling.
And BRING BACK the Decepticons and '07 Aitobots in G1 designs
As for Soto's movie, I hope he gets to make it.
Music
That Screen Rant article is entirely speculation. If we go based on the standard 2.5 multiplier, then we can assume no, ROTB did not break even. Based off the response from the Viacom CEO, it looks like it likely did not break even, otherwise, that would have been something he would have bragged about. Instead, the response towards ROTB was fairly gloomy: "We feel it’s not great, but good". And later talking about how the budget was too high: "COVID and inflation took the $100 million movies and made them cost $200 million. But movie tickets didn’t go from $12 to $24. We have to ask: How do we build movies? What’s necessary? We need to make smart choices. You can’t have everything, but you need that foundation to be strong."
Scorpio
When Covid happened, the studios effectively wrote off every single movie made at that time as being a loss financially. RotB breaking even or losing a minimal amount of money is
As you said yourself, it's not the last 3 films… it's simply Transformers: The Last Knight which is the only one to have lost them a significant amount of money.
As such, they've only had one movie out of 7 perform poorly and lose them money. RotB may be considered a flop, but unlike a lot of other films produced during Covid, it covered its costs.
As for the idea they all need to make $1bn, we don't live in that time anymore. Not only did we have a cost of living crisis but we also are'nt dealing with massive blockbusters, we had the smaller/tighter focus of Bumblebee and we've had a fairly minimalistic action film in RotB – it was not remotely the same scale as the battle's we have seen prior in the franchise.
You made a statement "There won't be a sequel for Unicron to be in because ROTB wasn't a hit" and tried to pass it off as factual.
You then proceeded to defend that point until now when you are trying to claim your point was "I'm absolutely certain Hasbro and Paramount will push forward with a ROTB sequel"
I have been replying to you claiming you 'have no idea' because you were claiming it would'nt be made at all and I was trying to enlighten you that they would make it and shared the reasoning. Now I see that you simply either did not communicate effectively your point of view OR have now realized your original point of view was incorrect and pivoted. At its core the miscommunication here was on your part, you were pushing the idea a sequel would not happen at all.
I have always agreed with your reasoning on why it probably would'nt make sense to make an expensive sequel, I even justified why in the eyes of studios they will come up with reasonings for this films underperformance and how a sequel will likely occur with significant changes to budget/scope, however legitimate reasons exists as for the brands viability and why the studio would make a sequel and likely will as long as the studios don't collapse due to the ongoing writers/actors strikes.
The only reason you feel frustrated is presumably because you've misunderstood or miscommunicated your own point and did not realize that the majority of what I was saying was the exact same point of view that you have – that something has to change in the sequel.
Revan1307
It's the internet man people are going to be nasty to others it's unfortunate but there nothing to be done about it just report them or put them on ignore and move on
TFXProtector
No. I think people need to stop being so awful towards one another these days. No one should be forced out of anything, I'm just so sick and tired of everyone behaving like this. And you should be too.
Revan1307
I think u need to stay out of movie threads for your own good u get so worked up about these movie's cause u hate them it's no healthy
TFXProtector
You're vastly misreading what I actually said. I didn't say Unicron, specifically, would be expensive. I said the whole thing would be expensive because the last one was a lemon. Anyone with common sense wouldn't make a sequel at this point when ROTB lost money. "This film lost money, but not as much as you expect." It shouldn't be losing *any* money. An investment is supposed to provide a return and the last 3 films have failed to do that.
The only reason Nolan got his Dark Knight trilogy was because WB was willing to gamble on it and saw the potential the box office didn't. Critics and audiences liked Batman Begins but it didn't make bank like they hoped it would. WB listened to the audience and the critics and said "Oh, they definitely want more" and it worked. Transformers, as of right now, doesn't have that. Yes, the audience score is high, but the critic score is low and the box office is terrible. Paramount would have to be crazy to invest more money in a sequel at this point. Transformers One is too far ahead to kill it, now, but it's a prequel so it doesn't really matter in the big picture overall. We saw how Bumblebee turned out… Great movie, technically made 3-3.5 times its money back, critical and audience darling but one Hell of a fall from the billion dollar mark the franchise was once in.
I'm absolutely certain Hasbro and Paramount will push forward with a ROTB sequel. They shouldn't, but they will. Pointing out that it's a complete waste of money and resources to do so isn't a crime, even if you think it is.
Using COVID, comparing it to Indy and The Flash is most likely what they'll do but the remotely intelligent among us will be able to say "Well, of course, it performed better than an unnecessary sequel that pisses all over the spirit of what made Indy work, and a film helmed by a violent groomer with severe mental problems. That doesn't mean it's a good investment of my money. Thanks, no thanks."
"Once again, you've no idea how it works" Once again, you have no idea how to address someone with decency and basic respect. There's no need to be like that over some movies about toys. Nothing more than glorified 2-2.75 hour commercials for toys and cars.
I'm so sick of people mistreating one another over this shit, in this fandom. I'm just so sick of these misanthropes having a platform to denigrate others over the stupidest things. I'm done doing this. I'm not fighting with you or anyone else anymore over this. I'm so sick and tired of all of you, I just can't take it anymore. FFS.
WreckerImpactor
I can't believe they gave a marvel movie to a guy who has only directed low budget horror movies. This Guardians of the Galaxy movie is doomed
Scorpio
Ángel Manuel Soto was hired around the time when Superheroes were at the most popular, it makes more sense as such that Paramount saw him being hired to do Blue Beetle and thought that Warner Bros were making a good decision so they should just copy it and leech off the success of Blue Beetle expecting the Superhero fad to continue – couple that into a recent studio push for more diverse directors to focus on diversity in the hopes of tapping untapped markets.
In a year where studios are now in the red, profit is definitely a priority. What's the point of getting the guy from Blue Beetle (at the time hiring him before that was even made) to make a Transformers film based on media he's made without a proven financial track record. At this point several studios will collapse unless they can turn a profit. Why hire a director who has not disclosed his budget for his projects?
The hiring process normally focuses primarily around hiring directors who are compatible with the studios vision and that primarily focuses around financials such as being able to show you can manage your budget or being able to show you can turn a profit. If neither of these aspects are publically disclosed then the general audience has no reason to view your hiring as anything other than 'oh, they are hiring the guy from Marvel/DC because of Superheroes being popular'
The reality is these movies are pretty poor quality rehashes of content people have already seen and a majority of people had no interest in, not even for the sake of memes. Blue Beetle itself was not even meant to release in cinemas they just thought it'd be an easy way to make more off the low budget. The brands damaged by years of neglect and poor quality predecessors has a long lasting impact.
At this point in time the studios don't care about building up the strength of the brands through being well recieved, all they care about it securing profit to prevent themselves going further into the red – they think Ángel Manuel Soto can do this solely because he appeals to Latino demographics in his work and because at one stage he was attached to Superhero franchises which were viewed as an evergreen brand.
JD The Last Autobot
Possibility to make a cameo, it's not a Transformers movie, it's a Spin off, so I would expect a maximum of three Autobots
Revan1307
they'll never make a movie without optimus prime in it. he's the number one transformer they be fools to not include him.
Luke Stark
True but if Angel includes Optimus, Bumblebee, Megatron and Starscream and this movie isn't a part of the Knightverse then it would get more confusing for fans
Rojixus
Well Rise of the Beasts didn't have Megatron or Starscream, and it really wasn't all that better for it.
JS_Prime
As nice as that sounds, hasbro would never let a movie exclude their mascot characters. That would actually push hasbro to use whatever veto power they have. Fellas got toys to sell
Luke Stark
My only thought on how it would be different that it would focus on other characters than just Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Megatron and Starscream as well as not to included them
This movie doesn't connect to Bumblebee and ROTB
That's how to make it different
Autobot Burnout
This is sounding a lot like the press releases we got in the early lead-ups to ROTB. Trying to hype up how it will be 'different' didn't work for Caple, time will tell if it's a 'different' story for Soto. Obviously not holding my breath unless a miracle happens like Lorenzo suddenly vanishes off the face of the Earth or something.
MatrixOfWumbo
I would say the above average (for DC) critical reception of Blue Beetle is a better measure of Soto's compatibility with this project than how well a movie did in the worst year for movies in decades.