If all goes as scheduled, fans of the popular Transformers franchise can expect to see the latest film in the series come out sometime in 2017. Other plans have been made public as well.
According to a blog post from TFW2005, Hasbro recently held an earning conference call for the first quarter. In a Q&A session, Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner confirmed two things: the existence of the Transformers Cinematic Universe and a possible release year for "Transformers 5."
"Our plan with the studio and filmmakers, you may have heard, [includes] some writers being hired," Goldner said. "We have, in fact, brought in Akiva Goldsman to lead a group of writers to really create a strategic plan around Transformers."
Goldner added that the inspiration for the story in "Transformers 5" could take in various elements from the Transformers canon.
"We think there are any number of stories to be told from the brand that has been around for 30 years with amazing canon and mythology," Goldner said. "We would expect the sequel to the Transformers movie [TF4] to happen in 2017."
According to Jeff LaBrecque of Entertainment Weekly, Goldsman, who won an Oscar as the screenwriter for "A Beautiful Mind," was brought in to help develop a wider universe for Paramount's blockbusters. The strategy to keep the franchise fresh and relevant is similar to what Disney is doing with both Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
"Paramount had previously targeted 2016 as the next Transformers film's release date, but Michael Bay is currently preparing to direct his Benghazi movie, '13 Hours,'" LaBrecque wrote.
As for the casting, the only actor that has confirmed a return to Transformers was Mark Wahlberg. He originally made those comments to Alex Zalben and Josh Horowitz of MTV News back in 2014.
"Yeah, I committed to doing a couple more," Wahlberg said.
Even though Bay is preparing to work for his other project, Wahlberg indicated that the director could return to "Transformers 5."
"I can't speak for Mr. Bay, but something tells me we'll be on that set soon," Wahlberg said.
As previously reported by the Gospel Herald, Paramount Pictures has considered dividing the next sequel into several films. The film company hopes to get on board, with help from Goldsman, to work with Bay, executive producer Steven Spielberg and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura.
According to Entertainment Weekly, fans of "Transformers" never had to wait more than three years for the blockbuster films in this series since 2007.
"After 2014's 'Transformers: Age of Extinction' topped a billion dollars across the globe-and broke records in China-fans can expect Paramount to keep to that reliable schedule," LaBrecque wrote.
