Michael Bay reveals why he wanted to come back for Transformers 4
Huffington Post recently spoke with the director about the trials and tribulations of getting his next film, Pain and Gain, off the ground. Here's what he had to say about being the king of Hasbro's cinematic empire.
"I thought I was done. Then the ride came out [at Universal Studios Hollywood] and the two-and-a-half-hour lines. And then you're thinking, Oh my God, someone's going to take this over. And you start doing a lot of soul-searching. Like, OK, I'm about to do a little movie, Pain and Gain ... and the studio says they want to restart the franchise. And someone could come in here and screw it up, you know? So I'm thinking that if I do this last one, we set it on a new footing, we change a lot of things -- but we keep the history of the three in place. But we broaden it so it can be set up and be carried on -- it would have a better chance for survival, I guess.
It was just one of those things. It's like, when you look what's going on in the film business with the franchise frenzy right now, why is James Cameron doing two more Avatar movies? Why is Peter Jackson doing three more The Hobbit movies that are in the same world as The Lord of the Rings? When you have a franchise, it's very hard to give it up."
It was just one of those things. It's like, when you look what's going on in the film business with the franchise frenzy right now, why is James Cameron doing two more Avatar movies? Why is Peter Jackson doing three more The Hobbit movies that are in the same world as The Lord of the Rings? When you have a franchise, it's very hard to give it up."
The director than went onto claim that this will not be a reboot in any way.
"No. We're basically taking from the history of where it was -- or where we left it in Chicago. And we're going to carry it on from there."
Michael Bay then confirmed that he will be bringing back Peter Cullen as the voice of Optimus Prime.
To read more of this very funny interview:
Transformers 4 comes to theaters June 27th, 2014 and stars Mark Wahlberg, Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor, Stanley Tucci, Kelsey Grammer, Sophia Myles. The film is directed by Michael Bay.
Comments (68)
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Sean
@jasdjqs Oh, i see.
8 months agoby @themoviefanaticFlag
jasdjqs
the robot scenes, opening sequence, the final battle, bubble bee taking the skin off a cat. lol. @themoviefanatic
8 months agoby @jasdjqsFlag
Sean
@jasdjqs Which scenes ?
8 months agoby @themoviefanaticFlag
jasdjqs
good summer popcorn flicks, i don't expect Oscar style movies, just go old fun, The second one was the worst of the three but i still enjoy to watch it just ff some of the scenes, lol
8 months agoby @jasdjqsFlag
Sean
@larmindy Well, if there was to be no humans involved in the next Transformers movie, that would mean more screen time for the Autobots and Decepticons. That doesn't sound good to you?
8 months agoby @themoviefanaticFlag
larmindy
Keep in mind these are popcorn summer films (not serious movies). As such I have enjoyed the first three films from Bay. I cannot see a Transformers film "working" without the human element.
I am an '80s cartoon child and all through Gen 1 you have the humans working with the Autobots and on occasion with the Decepticons. Granted the humans were not the heros but the Autobots were, and I think we kind of loose that in this series. However, as I said, I did enjoy the first three.
What I would like from the next is the Dinobots, Unicron, Galvatron, and less of a government storyline.
8 months agoby @larmindyFlag
THE JOKER
@summit10 what's that? Censor myself haha?
8 months agoby @mcleve02Flag
Summit10
@mcleve02 you can try it man, it's a nice policy :D hehehe
8 months agoby @summit10Flag
Fry_3000
Unicron would be awesome but doubt if it'll happen. Dinobots I can see them in the new one. Would be good if they kill megaton and bring in galvatron like in the animated movie. Be interesting what he does with this new film.
8 months agoby @Fry-3000Flag
Bawnian©-Dexeus
@ejk1 True sir, very true
8 months agoby @bawnian-dexeusFlag
skywise
@cheetoboy I think we had this convo before but I agree 100% about Unicron and the Dinobots. Unicron is my all time fav villian in the TF universe.
8 months agoby @skywiseFlag
Cheetoboy
If this turns into another trilogy, we should see Unicron very soon. I also hope to see the Dinobots. @ejk1 I totally agree with you, the first and third were awesome, part2 was okay, but very mindless. Well big ups to Michael Bay, because in 2014 he's going to be banking big with both Transformers4 and Ninja Turtles coming out, which I also hope they'll get right.
8 months agoby @cheetoboyFlag
THE JOKER
@summit10 haha your starting to sound like me... Except I forgot to censor myself! ;)
8 months agoby @mcleve02Flag
THE JOKER
@corey hehehehe......
8 months agoby @mcleve02Flag
Sean
@corey Really? I had hoped that Transformers 4 would be a Transformers movie, with only the Autobots and Decepticons and not with no human characters involved in it.
8 months agoby @themoviefanaticFlag
Corey W.
@themoviefanatic Because it's obvious...
8 months agoby @coreyFlag
gandoff2169
I don't know what to say really. I think the Transformers movies was pretty good. They did have somethings I did not like, or even hated. But over all, were all good films. I do think this is a better thing then a reboot. Might be a chance to have Megan Fox back, which I would have preferred in the third. But I doubt it.
8 months agoby @gandoff2169Flag
ejk1
I think the first and third film were good films, but ROTF puts a huge dent in the trilogy's logic. DOTM makes a more than fine sequel to the first film. We find out why Megatron came to Earth, and then we watch him betray that other Prime (whose name escapes me, but that's irrelevant to my point) because Megatron wanted to be the #1 badass. That's great, and makes a lot of sense. But then ROTF has to get factored in. And now problematic questions such as "Why would Megatron be anyone's bitch?" comes into play. My advice to anyone that hasn't seen these films is to watch 1& 3, while skipping 2 altogether. Yeah, you'll wonder how Megatron got brought back to life, but you can make up a reason that won't be nearly as irritating as the illogic of ROTF.
8 months agoby @ejk1Flag
Sean
@corey Why do you think that will happen?
8 months agoby @themoviefanaticFlag
THE JOKER
That was supposed to be than, not and at the end... Stupid iPhone auto correct
8 months agoby @mcleve02Flag
THE JOKER
@corey sadly that probably is true... It's like they don't realize we crave seeing the TRANSFORMERS, not the Hollywood stars themselves. We care more about the story and mythos of the Transformers and seeing the stars do their thing...
8 months agoby @mcleve02Flag
Corey W.
In other news, Shia LaBeof will be confirmed to return in three weeks. Just give it time.
8 months agoby @coreyFlag
Summit10
screw it up? SCREW IT UP! you egotistic, self righteous ooops
8 months agoby @summit10Flag
Salemwolf711
Oh really Michael Bay some one else will screw the franchise up?
You have already done that! God i Hate you Michael Bay.
8 months agoby @Salemwolf711Flag
THE JOKER
@youngrizo Cool...
8 months agoby @mcleve02Flag
Youngrizo
@mcleve02 Understood
8 months agoby @youngrizoFlag
Bawnian©-Dexeus
@youngrizo Not remove them entirely... I could explain myself but I.m working on a small phone so... I'll later expand . But @dan1 Summed it up perfectly
8 months agoby @bawnian-dexeusFlag
Dan
I'm glad Cullen is back, he simply is Optimus Prime, the same way Kevin Conroy is Batman.
Bay has an excellent eye for action. He's great at it, and knows how to make it grand. But this Kruger guy and Bay can't write for sh*t. I don't want to sit through more racial stereotypes to get to the good stuff. So much unnecessary BS. goes on in his Transformers series, you could prob get away with cutting all 3 down to an hour n half each, and they'd be all the better for it. At least the girl from #3 was classier than Fox, but that's hardly a compliment to the series. I guess all I ask is less humans, more robots, please.
8 months agoby @dan1Flag
Youngrizo
@bawnian-dexeus I always thought Dark of the Moon was actually the only good one.
The use of the Red One Cameras forced Bay to slow down his pacing and pull the camera out more. Also The tech came far enough that the Bots never looked like they were unfinished, which was the reason for a lot of his shots in part one being pulled in so tightly and making the fights incoherent. The human element to me is a double edged sword, to remove them entirely would be to make the task of connecting with the heroes that much harder but I always hated the love story that was unnecessary and I felt 3 handled it much better and made it a much more realistic portrayal of a relationship.
2 was a complete mess, from writing to editing, the only good thing that came out of 2 was the IMAX specific sequences. And even they were not that great.
3 dismissed most of the inane comedy, and actually made the story more serious, the introduction of Sentinel as well as the plot that followed with him was much more Personal to the Autobots, and though they didn't remove the humans altogether, it felt like a real war was going on between the 2 factions, for the first time in the franchise, seeing people getting blown to dust in Chicago gave it a darker sense of tone, not Batman dark but dark for it's universe. I think all these elements and more made it a far better Transformers movie than it's predecessors.
8 months agoby @youngrizoFlag
THE JOKER
@bawnian-dexeus I think that is what they need to do anyways... you won't get any crap from me on that... I think there is just too much focus on the "human" side of these films than the Transformer side..
8 months agoby @mcleve02Flag
Bawnian©-Dexeus
I don't know anymore what to think...I've seen Dark of The Moon enough to want to redo my review of it and out the first Transformers as the best and only good one of the series.
I'll keep getting sh*t for this, but get rid of the human fct and make them the background
8 months agoby @bawnian-dexeusFlag
THE JOKER
@youngrizo Well I have a majority of people who have no problem with what I say and have plenty of conversations with me... if people want an intelligent conversation with me, then start one... Just look you are... You are not attacking me for what I said, just commenting... I have no problem getting deep into subjects and discussing things in a logical manner... As far as following my comments... There are a lot of people on this site I know outside of movieweb and I do talk very casually to them... so yeah, they may not come off as the most "knowledgeable" person on here... But hey, if no one tries and discuss things, yeah I am left with my one and gun comment and my casual talk with other people...
I do understand what you are trying to say.
8 months agoby @mcleve02Flag
Youngrizo
But to each his own
8 months agoby @youngrizoFlag
Youngrizo
I said what I said cause I have read more than a few of your comments on this site, on other articles.
I stand by what I said, and all I'm saying is, it's one thing to show disdain for something but that kind of post, like the first one you made here, leave that for the dumber people of the internet.
And I know you're not the only one hating on Bay, a lot of people hate on Bay, but a lot of people have followed a lot of stupid trends in the history of the planet, popular vote isn't always right.
8 months agoby @youngrizoFlag
Sean
@jmp Yes, that's true. I think it was cleared that this is going to be a fourth Transformers movie.
8 months agoby @themoviefanaticFlag
THE JOKER
@youngrizo I am not saying that in a dickish way... I am simply responding...
8 months agoby @mcleve02Flag
THE JOKER
@primus89 How can you say nicely said when your comment was just as immature as my own... seriously hypocritical...
8 months agoby @mcleve02Flag
THE JOKER
@youngrizo I did not pick the career path of going for directing, he did... and I am not the only one hating on Michael Bay! And maybe I may have came off strong and in quite the dirty mouth way, but oh well... truth is you are right this is the internet... so as far as going and telling me to make a name for myself, truth be told you do not know who I am behind this profile... I am proud of where I am in my life... I have no need to have anyone try and have me question that...
I am not out to be cool or try and be any better than anyone else... I am simply spitting my opinion... period. I am so sorry I have come off arrogant to you. I am simply allowed to be angry about a post... You want to see my mature intelligent comments that I supposedly never leave... why not read things like my reviews where there is no profanity... they are simply filled with me breaking down what I see in a film... Don't come and judge off one comment until you actually have all the material...
8 months agoby @mcleve02Flag
Primus89
@youngrizo Well said.
8 months agoby @primus89Flag
Youngrizo
Love something or hate it, the beauty of sites like Movieweb is almost everyone on here tries to be civil, yeah sometimes arguments break out, God knows I don't miss the Batman vs Avengers nerd rages, but you know what, people debate with intelligence and points, not the kind of posts you have made more than once.
It's people like you who turned IGN forums and sites with similar groups, a waste of time for people to have proper discussions with other people who love the same thing. Grow up.
8 months agoby @youngrizoFlag
Youngrizo
@mcleve02 you are the only one on this page sounding like an arrogant worthless f*cking prude. Do something with your life before you go insulting people you've never met, make a name for yourself being good at what you do, hell, if you want, go make a short film and show us all how much better a director you'd be.
Because on the internet it's easy to talk sh*t. Anyone can do it. It doesn't make you cool or better than anyone, just arrogant. If you want to sound like a smart person who dislikes Bay's work, just consider doing it in a manner that makes you sound like an intelligent human being and not a silly child.
8 months agoby @youngrizoFlag
THE JOKER
@ROFLitschristian Truly the most fitting voice for Optimus I could ever think of!
8 months agoby @mcleve02Flag
Jacob Fredrick
dont care what people say i loved transformers since i was a kid and i love the films becuase thats the closest we'll get to them in real life, so i like that thiers a 4th and optimus is returning....this"reboot" or "restart" could actually work for the franchise
8 months agoby @Jacob-FredrickFlag
ROFLitschristian
Probably the only good thing to come out of this series Optimus.
8 months agoby @ROFLitschristianFlag
Joshua Hollaway
Guess what..I won't pay to see it.
8 months agoby @Joshua-HollawayFlag
JMP
who in the world think that this is going to be a reboot? i mean was it already cleared that this is going to be a fourth TF movie?
8 months agoby @jmpFlag
THE JOKER
@primus89 If you are such a seasoned vet then why can you not tag correctly... I wasn't trying to intimidate and quite frankly, your opinion of what my posts are don't mean anything to me... why do you need to hide behind a second profile when saying things to me. I will continue to comment as much as I want, when I want, and say whatever I please whether you or anyone else likes it or not!
8 months agoby @mcleve02Flag
Primus89
I'm not scared, and also this isn't my only account I have been a member longer than you have and I always see the sh*t you post and it's always nonsense.
8 months agoby @primus89Flag
THE JOKER
@primus89 And besides you just joined this site today so how would you know what anyone feels on this site... if you don't want me to talk more than I already do then please don't engage me in conversation, or I promise I will continue!
8 months agoby @mcleve02Flag
THE JOKER
@primus89 I can comment on whatever I please... You may not like me and that is fine... I will continue to comment on whatever I please... Sorry but there isn't really a thing you can do about it...
8 months agoby @mcleve02Flag