Michael Bay Talks TRANSFORMERS 4

Michael Bay used the opening of Transformers: The Ride — 3D as an opportunity to talk to Hero Complex about his plans for Transformers 4. Bay wants to move the franchise into the future and has jettisoned the cast of the first three movies. So long, Sam Witwicky. Bay said, 

It’s not a reboot, that’s maybe the wrong word. 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.

Asked if he was thinking of taking the story into space, Bay replied,

I think so, yeah, a little. 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.

One problem with a Transformers set in space? The effects budget. Bay has been told his budget is $30 million lower than that of Transformers: Dark of the Moon, even though that film is the fifth-highest grossing of all time internationally. As an additional source of income for the studio, Transformers 4 will redesign the robots, which means we all have to buy new, updated Transformers toys. So we have that to look forward to.

Bay swears that this will be his last Transformers movie, that he'll hand the franchise off to someone else, but that's what he said about Dark of the Moon. Do you think he'll really let go of the reins? And who would you like to see take over?