It came as a shock that Michael Bay would be following the big-budget blockbuster Transformers: Dark of the Moon with a smaller budgeted fact-based flick, Pain and Gain. Now that the filmmaker has completed principal photography with his $20 million passion project, he will be getting back to work with Transformers 4.
The film won’t see the return of the principal human cast and there may be a reason for it. In an interview with the LA Times, not only did Bay say that the fourth film could take place in space, but to describe Transformers 4 as a reboot would not be accurate.
Here is the full quote:
“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.”
A previous report confirmed that Transformers 4 will be his last for the franchise, but it also confirmed that a new cast will come into the picture and that the robots will have new designs. Bay even expressed that he would like to take the film into outer space.
“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.”
Seeing how the production budget for reached a whooping $195 million, it is possible that he could be asking for more money for the budget, especially if he wants to set the film in space. Not so, says Bay: “Our mandate is to cut about $30 million.”
An eight-figure cut may seem large at first for any tentpole film, but its peanuts to Bay. So if he really intends to cut the budget by $30 million, it is possible that we could be seeing lesser-known names fill the casting sheet.
Students of the Unusual™ comic cover used with permission of 3BoysProductions
The Mercuri Bros.™ comic cover used with permission of Prodigal Son Press
