New Transformers a reboot, director says
Michael Bay has his own big bang theory. The formula is derived from the Transformers franchise, because nothing makes a bigger bang in Hollywood than billions of bucks.
The three previous Transformers films earned more than $2.7 billion worldwide theatrically, so it makes dollars and sense that the fourth, Transformers: Age of Extinction, should roll into theatres.
But the director was quick to point out that his latest special-effects exercise in action “Bayhem” arrives with a difference. He fancies the flick as more of a reboot than a continuation of the story. The good Autobots and the bad Decepticons are still around. And the aftermath of the third Transformers counts as a setup for the fourth as a government agency plans to eliminate all transformers.
Here are five other things you should know about the latest Transformers: 1. The cast reboot is led by Mark Wahlberg.
Wahlberg plays an inventor who discovers Optimus Prime and then valiantly tries to save the Autobots. The actor is no stranger to action, but he rarely does four movies in a row.
The Transformers extravaganza counted as his fourth consecutive film (after working with Bay on his crime comedy Pain & Gain). They connected so well Wahlberg made an exception, mostly because of Bay’s influence.
“I normally wouldn’t do four projects in a year but these were all things that I was dying to do and came together at the same time,” Wahlberg says. “I usually like to spread them out a little more, maybe two movies every 18 months.” 2. Bay appreciated the lowmaintenance Wahlberg.
The director said it was time to recast. He wouldn’t name names but it was no secret that he was less than thrilled with Megan Fox, who co-starred in the first two Transformers flicks. By the time Shia LaBeouf completed the third Transformers, there was tension, as well.
“It was a relief working with actors with no drama,” recalls Bay of his Pain & Gain shoot. “No young whippersnappers but great actors. It was just a dream.” 3. There’s also a new Transformer in the mix.
That would be the Dinobot called Grimlock, In the 1980s cartoon series, the Dinobots were created by the Autobots, but Bay said the all-digital Grimlock tends to be more T. Rex aggressive in the latest movie incarnation. 4. Transformers: Age of Extinction is the first in a trilogy.
Bay confirmed that Transformers 4 is really the beginning of a new series, but he wouldn’t commit to whether he would direct the next one — at least not until the boxoffice returns add up. 5. Another Bad Boys might get in the way, anyway.
Bay enjoyed the strippeddown experience of filming Pain & Gain so much he might return to the crime genre with Bad Boys 3.