Michael Bay might be ready to blow up robots, again.
According to Puck’s Matt Belloni, the pyrotechnic prince of Hollywood carnage is quietly developing a new ‘Transformers’ movie at Paramount, with plans to direct.
That’s the same Michael Bay who swore he was done with the franchise after ‘The Last Knight’ sputtered out in 2017 with a franchise-low (by Bay standards) $600M haul. That film—loud, incoherent, and Shia LaBeouf–less—was supposed to be his farewell ride. Paramount was just as ready to move on, mostly because Bay’s paychecks had ballooned to absurd heights.
However, time changes everything. The franchise has sputtered in his absence, and Bay, facing diminishing returns post-Transformers, recently went on record lamenting how difficult it’s become to get movies greenlit. So, as Belloni reports, Bay circled back to Paramount last year with a pitch to rejoin the franchise as director and producer. He’s already tapped “Cocaine Bear” screenwriter Jordan VanDina to script what may become his directorial comeback.
This is just one of the many Transformers projects over at Skydance as David Ellison inches closer to finalizing his acquisition of Paramount. Josh Cooley, who helmed the animated “Transformers One,” has inked a deal to develop a live-action take as well. There’s even talk of a long-gestating G.I. Joe crossover, and two other early-stage ideas collecting dust.
But the real story is Bay. Love him or loathe him, he and Transformers are inseparable in the cultural memory of mid-2000s multiplex mayhem. And with Paramount holding onto the rights until 2029—as long as something is actively in production—they’ve got time to blow things up properly. Literally.
For the time being, Bay is supposed to direct Netflix-produced “Fast and Loose,” which stars Will Smith, and is set to begin production in August. The last film Bay’s directed was 2022’s “Ambulance,” which bombed with a $22M domestic haul.