*Please note that this article is an opinion-editorial.
The rumor mill over the fourth installment of the Michael Bay-directed Transformers franchise is brewing — who will join Mark Wahlberg in the new cast? Will there be new Autobot characters and where will the story be set? Earth or somewhere else in the universe? Fans of the franchise and collectors of the beloved Transformers toys — which the movies are based on — are thrilled about news of the new edition to the Transformerssaga.
New Robots? . . . Yes, Please!
Rumors aside, a few facts are emerging already. Bay, after having announced he wouldn’t do another Transformers movie, changed his mind and decided to return to the helm. Transformers: Dark of the Moon, the most recent in the Transformers trilogy, was the biggest box-office success of the three. It raked in more than $1.1 billion worldwide at the box office, making it the fifth-highest-grossing movie of all time.
Despite the box office success, the toy merchandising sales for the film wasn’t up to Hasbro’s expectations as sales fell unexpectedly short. TG Daily speculates inventing new characters set in a new storyline will increase sales, because fans already have Bumblebee and Optimus Prime in their collections. Truth is, Bay’s third installment didn’t offer many new Autobots and didn’t overhaul the existing robot cast, leaving passionate collectors empty handed with nothing new to add to their collections.
Change is Good
Shia LeBeouf, along with all other members of the previous cast, won’t appear in Transformers 4. This, together with Michael Bay’s ambitious plans to take the storyline to new, more serious heights, is promising for fans and collectors. Bay is quoted as saying he wants to continue the Transformers saga and push it into a completely new direction without demolishing the past. Although the movie’s budget is said to be less than its predecessors’, there is speculation about whether Bay will move the story from Earth into space.
And, here is where fans’ imaginations start running wild. It isn’t confirmed whether Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Ratchet, or any of the remaining Autobots will be appear in the next movie or whether they’ll be replaced completely. Geeks of Doom says it is unclear if existing Autobots will reappear and whether the voice cast will return to voice their respective Autobot personas.
Still Developing
One thing is for sure: Geeks of Doom quotes Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner as saying the audience will be seeing more Autobots recruited to fight the war against the Decepticons in the next film. Perhaps a ploy to sell more toys, but the franchise could use a facelift with updated robots and plot elements, so new robots seems like a good all-around idea.
Hopefully, more information shedding light on Transformers 4 will be made available soon. Fans will have to remain patient to catch glimpses of latest Transformers adventure from Bay — the action-movie-making guru — as Paramount announced the movie’s release for June 2014.
