Michael Bay officially quits the Transformers franchise, and seems to mean it this time

Director Michael Bay has declared that the upcoming ‘Transformers: The Last Knight,’ fifth entry in the sci-fi action franchise based on the Hasbro toy line, will be his last film in the series.

Of course, he said the exact same thing with third film ‘Transformers: the Dark of the Moon,’ and fourth entry ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction,’ but it seems this time he really means it.

In a statement on his website, the director tells fans, “It’s bittersweet for me. With every Transformers film, I’ve said it would be my last. I see the 120 million fans around the world who see these movies, the huge theme park lines to the ride and the amazing Make- A-Wish kids who visit my sets, and it somehow keeps drawing me back.

“I love doing these movies. This film was especially fun to shoot. But, this time might really be it. So I’m blowing this one out.”

Ah, but there’s still that hint of uncertainty with his use of the word ‘might’… oh well, if Bay says he’s really done this time, who are we to argue? Certainly the films he’s directed in between his last two ‘Transformers’ flicks – 2013’s ‘Pain & Gain,’ and 2016’s ’13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi’ – have indicated a hankering to take on more mature and challenging material than we tend to associate with the notoriously flashy filmmaker.

Bay – who has directed every ‘Transformers’ film since the 2007 original (“I’ve been living in this franchise for over 10 years now”) – also praised the “great team of writers” who have been working not only on ‘The Last Knight,’ but also fleshing out a universe for planned future installments in the ‘Transformers’ series, which Bay promises will “(integrate) our films in a whole new way. Every movie will interlink.”

A ‘Bumblebee’ solo movie is set for 2018, with the as-yet untitled sixth ‘Transformers’ due 2019 – and it’s recently been hinted that a ‘Transformers/GI Joe’ crossover movie may also be on the cards.

Bay describes ‘The Last Knight’ as both “a final chapter and a new beginning,” and signs off by sharing the official synopsis:

“The Last Knight shatters the core myths of the Transformers franchise, and redefines what it means to be a hero. Humans and Transformers are at war, Optimus Prime is gone. The key to saving our future lies buried in the secrets of the past, in the hidden history of Transformers on Earth.

“Saving our world falls upon the shoulders of an unlikely alliance: Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg); Bumblebee; an English Lord (Sir Anthony Hopkins); and an Oxford Professor (Laura Haddock).

“There comes a moment in everyone’s life when we are called upon to make a difference. In Transformers: The Last Knight, the hunted will become heroes. Heroes will become villains. Only one world will survive: theirs, or ours.”

While the franchise has never been treated too kindly by critics, the ‘Transformers’ series has proved phenomenally popular with cinemagoers worldwide, the existing four films having earned over $3.7 billion at the global box office.

‘Transformers: The Last Knight’ opens in UK cinemas on 23 June. Watch the new Superbowl trailer below.

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