Michael Bay is reportedly preparing for a Michael Bay Transformers franchise return, signaling possible big changes for Paramount Pictures and its plans for the franchise. While multiple projects are in early development, speculation is rising that the previously discussed G.I. Joe/Transformers crossover might be at risk as Bay steps back into a prominent role.
Box Office History and Recent Performance
Michael Bay directed five installments in the Transformers series, all achieving significant profits at the box office. Even the lowest-earning film among his projects brought in $605 million globally, while his most successful hit the $1.1 billion mark. Despite these commercial feats, reactions from both critics and fans were mixed. Subsequent releases—Bumblebee, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, and Transformers One—gained better critical reception yet did not match the franchise’s earlier commercial dominance.
Bay’s Potential Return and Paramount’s Future Plans
According to Puck, through SFFGazette.com, Michael Bay is developing a new Transformers movie with Paramount Pictures and plans to return as director. After stepping away from the franchise following the underperformance of Transformers: The Last Knight in 2017, Bay’s later releases have not enjoyed the same financial success as his Transformers titles. The outlet reported,
“Bay approached the studio last year to come back as a hands-on producer and possibly director, and he’s got writer Jordan VanDina working on a script. It’s one of five or so Transformers projects in development that David Ellison and Skydance will inherit if/when the Paramount sale closes.”
—Puck, Source
Other Projects and the G.I. Joe Crossover’s Uncertain Fate
Puck further shared,
“Josh Cooley, who made last year’s animated Transformers One, just closed a deal to pursue a live-action take,”
—Puck, Source and that,
“There’s also a possible G.I. Joe/Transformers crossover in development, and the studio has two separate ideas in early stages.”
—Puck, Source
Currently, there is no urgency to push any of these projects into immediate production, as Paramount must only begin work on at least one by 2029 to retain franchise rights. The list of upcoming efforts includes Cooley’s live-action vision following Transformers One, two additional concepts in preliminary stages, and the long-discussed crossover with G.I. Joe. However, Michael Bay’s potential return appears to make the crossover’s future more uncertain, as the direction and creative leadership may now shift in light of his involvement.
Jordan VanDina, recognized for his writing on SuperMansion, Animaniacs, and the future Dodgeball 2, is scripting Bay’s envisioned project. Meanwhile, fans are eager to see if Cooley’s transition from animation to live-action will deliver a new direction for the Autobots and Decepticons.
Bay Reflects on His Legacy with Transformers
During the 2022 promotion of Ambulance, Michael Bay looked back on the beginnings of Transformers, stating,
“The first one was scary. It was technology we didn’t know would work, and then it became very successful. It was the first time digital effects were that highly reflective, so it broke a lot of new ground.”
—Michael Bay, Director
He added,
“It made more than [$709 million], that’s a lot of movie tickets and a lot of people that have seen it.”
—Michael Bay, Director
Bay also acknowledged he may have stayed with the franchise too long:
“I made too many of them. Steven Spielberg said, ‘Just stop at three.’ And I said I’d stop. The studio begged me to do a fourth, and then that made a billion too. And then I said I’m gonna stop here. And they begged me again. I should have stopped. They were fun to do.”
—Michael Bay, Director
What Bay’s Return Could Mean for the Franchise
After a period away from Transformers, Michael Bay is now poised to make his comeback. His anticipated involvement could divide fans and critics, but for Paramount and the future under David Ellison and Skydance, Bay’s name might attract the high box office returns that made the franchise a global blockbuster. The fate of the G.I. Joe crossover and other projects remains in flux, leaving the fan base both intrigued and uncertain as the studio considers its next steps.
