The Transformers Cinematic Universe is not planning on taking a break anytime soon. As Paramount Pictures previously addressed, the studio has big plans for the Autobots and Decepticons taking over the big screen, and now we know just how big those plans are. Hasbro has revealed that the Transformers writers room came up with enough material to confidently confirm four more Transformers sequels. That means, not only is Transformers 5 on its way, but also 6, 7 and 8.
The news was announced at the MIP Junior Conference (via TFW 2005), as a Hasbro executive spilled the beans during a Q&A session. Apparently the writers room that was previously addressed months ago went on for 3 successful months and the end result has yielded Transformers live-action films for the next 10 years. Hasbro’s Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer, Stephen J. Davis explained:
You're going to see a new Transformers movie coming from Hasbro and Paramount and Michael Bay and our other partners. In fact, we just finished -- as some of you may have read -- an incredible experience. We decided we wanted to plot out the next 10 years of the Transformers franchise, so we got together in a 3 month period of time...nine of some of the most creative writers I have ever worked with -- shepherded by Akiva Goldsman, who many of you may know won an Academy Award for A Beautiful Mind, and written a bunch of great movies. And they plotted out the next ten years of Transformers. Similarly we are doing the same in television and digital. So stay tuned Transformers 5 is on its way. ...And 6 and 7 and 8.
It was about six months ago that news of this new writers room project just broke. The idea is that the Transformer franchise wanted to form a multi-part sequel films to the already created series of movies. With the current state of superhero films and novel adaptation franchises leading to more and more sequels, clearly Transformers wants to stick to the trends. And despite the critical flack that the franchise has taken on, there’s no denying the films make money. The last entry of the franchise, Transformers: Age of Extinction grossed a worldwide total of $1.1 billion, proving the franchise still to be holding strong.
The franchise has made Paramount a lot of money, nearly $4 billion across four films, so continuing the blockbuster havoc is not exactly the biggest risk. Also, playing up a new name behind the idea machine, as heard by the Hasbro exec, may help the franchise win back some of the original Transformers fans who may have lost interest in Michael Bay. Bay is certainly still attached, but from the announcement of what went down in the writers room, it sounds like the ideas were ‘shepherded’ by another creative. Time will tell if the Transformers can ever gain both critical and commercial acclaim.
