Paramount and Hasbro are developing the eighth film in the main "Transformers" series and intend to bring familiar names back to the project: Steven Spielberg will take on creative oversight, while Michael Bay is in talks to return to the director's chair, according to infohub.kz.
Spielberg previously served as executive producer on the first two "Transformers" films and oversaw the franchise's creative direction. Now he will once again oversee all key creative decisions alongside producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura.
Bay is still at an early stage of negotiations, but he has already read the script and met with Spielberg. It was Bay who directed the first five films in the series, starting with the 2007 picture that launched the franchise and grossed more than $5.4 billion worldwide.
The new film is in early development. Jason Fuchs wrote the script, and the action will take place in the present day. Plot details and the cast are being kept under wraps.
Following the merger of the studios under Skydance, "Transformers" has become one of the new leadership's priority projects. As a reminder, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery have officially merged into a single company. At the same time, figures in the creative industry and people connected to film and television greeted the merger without much enthusiasm.
It is worth noting that the "Transformers" franchise has noticeably lost its former popularity in recent years and has gradually turned into more of a giant brand for toys and merchandise than the cultural phenomenon it was in the late 2000s.
At the same time, it is unclear who will now voice one of the main characters, Optimus Prime. Kursiv LifeStyle previously reported that Peter Cullen, who gave the character his famous voice, recently died. His voice had been heard in "Transformers" since the franchise's very beginning, so replacing him will be especially difficult.