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Slashfilm has posted a couple of interesting quotes from Steven Spielberg and Michael Bay regarding their involvement in the future of the Transformers movie franchise. Spielberg definitely wants Bay for another Transformers film, and Bay seems much less adamant about leaving the franchise than he once was.


The first quote from Spielberg comes from the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly:

The question was asked if Spielberg thought there would be another Michael Bay Transformers movie to which he said:

I hope so, because I think he made the best of the three with this last one. I certainly can’t imagine anybody other than Michael being equipped to make another Transformers. He’s invented a genre and he’s got the secret formula.

The second quote from Bay comes from his appearance at the opening of Transformers: The Ride at Universal Studios Singapore:

How did I know someone’s going to ask me this question today? We’re talking about it, but there’s nothing right now. I’m going to do a tiny movie first, then we’ll talk about it, if I potentially do it.

I gotta agree with Spielberg, Bay's probably the only director who could make a proper sequel to the Trilogy. That's not to say other directors can't make (good) TF films, but they certainly can't make good Bayverse TF films.
*feels like I may have unintentionally twisted Spielberg's words*

Noideaforaname wrote:I gotta agree with Spielberg, Bay's probably the only director who could make a proper sequel to the Trilogy. That's not to say other directors can't make (good) TF films, but they certainly can't make good Bayverse TF films.
*feels like I may have unintentionally twisted Spielberg's words*

I agree too. There's no damn way the movies would be half as exciting with someone else. Everyone always wants to focus on boring ass stories and interactions with characters. I don't give a damn about any of that. I have Prime, Animated, and G1 if I want that stuff. But for these movies, all I want is robots killing each other, then transforming.

Noideaforaname wrote:they certainly can't make good Bayverse TF films.

Nobody has yet made a good Bayverse TF film

No solid info yet.

dear lord please no

SlyTF1 wrote:But for these movies, all I want is robots killing each other, then transforming.

I'd settle for that too... if I got it.

And from the dark recesses of the TF fanbase came cries of disbelief ... which made me lol.

BRING ON THE DINOBOTS !!

SlyTF1 wrote:I agree too. There's no damn way the movies would be half as exciting with someone else. Everyone always wants to focus on boring ass stories and interactions with characters. I don't give a damn about any of that. I have Prime, Animated, and G1 if I want that stuff. But for these movies, all I want is robots killing each other, then transforming.

In other words, you don't want these movies to be substantially good. You just want them to be mind-numbing and pointless, with no reason for us to even care about the characters.

Seriously, none of these movies gave me any reasons why I should even care about who lives and who dies.

• Ironhide's murder by Sentinel? Barely knew him anyway.
• Megatron's deaths? Predictable.
• Optimus Prime's impalement? Typical.
• Sentinel Prime's death? Hey, it's only making Opitmus look more cold.
• Starscream's death? Pitiful.
• Jazz's death? Brushed off as though it were nothing.
• The Fallen's death? Abrupt.
• Jetfire's sacrifice? Noble, but he wasn't gonna last much longer at his age.
• Laserbeak's death? Kinda cool, but a savage like him wouldn't dare be kept alive by the writers.
• Any other Decepticons' deaths? Mere Redshirts.

There's something to be said about a film when the audience doesn't empathize with its (would-be) main stars.

I wanted to like these bots, but these films kept trying to sell Shia and his lover interests instead.

There is more to the TFs that mindless robot battling. Much more. 25+ years of lore are proof of that.

Let's just hope Bay actually sticks to his word and says no. And let's hope for a new producer and new writers, too. Transformers to date has never had a movie that I can call "good." Not in 1986, not in 2011. I enjoyed what I could but it's a lot like getting Diet Coke when you were expecting regular. It gives you a hollow feeling and a bad taste in your mouth. It's pretty sad when a half hour cartoon can tell a story better than a 2.5 hour film.

amtm wrote:It's pretty sad when a half hour cartoon can tell a story better than a 2.5 hour film.

Quoted for truth.

These movies treat the audience like dimwits, which we are not. We are smarter than that and deserve more respectable movies that don't insult our IQs.

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Anyone who thinks Bay made good TF movies doesn't know crap about good story telling. I give him all the credit for the visuals (minus the god awful robot designs and too close camera angles).

Last time I checked, a Transformers movie was supposed to be about, you know, the TRANSFORMERS. Not some dumb kid. I have asked every friend I have who didn't know crap about Transformers before the movie to give me character descriptions of any Transformer that was longer than 1 sentence.

# of them that could accomplish that very simple task: 0


THAT'S NOT GOOD STORYTELLING!!!

(Rage dump)

Sabrblade wrote:Seriously, none of these movies gave me any reasons why I should even care about who lives and who dies.

• Ironhide's murder by Sentinel? Barely knew him anyway.
• Megatron's deaths? Predictable.
• Optimus Prime's impalement? Typical.
• Sentinel Prime's death? Hey, it's only making Opitmus look more cold.
• Starscream's death? Pitiful.
• Jazz's death? Brushed off as though it were nothing.
• The Fallen's death? Abrupt.
• Jetfire's sacrifice? Noble, but he wasn't gonna last much longer at his age.
• Laserbeak's death? Kinda cool, but a savage like him wouldn't dare be kept alive by the writers.
• Any other Decepticons' deaths? Mere Redshirts.

There's something to be said about a film when the audience doesn't empathize with its (would-be) main stars.

I wanted to like these bots, but these films kept trying to sell Shia and his lover interests instead.

There is more to the TFs that mindless robot battling. Much more. 25+ years of lore are proof of that.

Thaaank you.

well if it's not bay then who? A poor mans bay like Mcg or brent ratner? I can't imagine they're going to go in a much different directiion. let's be real the forth installment is not often a very good one. Exhibit a the phantom menace exhibit b x-men origins wolverine exhibit c batman and robin. I could continue ( superman 4 anybody?) I doubt they're getting james cameron or ridley scott. Bay is ok. More of the same. As far as I'm concerned this is bay's to ruin (more) or fix like revenge of the sith.

I think Bay is tentative to make another movie after what he did to the third movie. He didn't think he would be asked to make a fourth and made it vary hard for another sequel.
With Cybertron destroyed and most of the Decepticons there isn't anything to fight for now.
I think most of the car licenses were being a pain on the last movie too so if they do a fourth they might have to choose different cars and may as well just reboot the franchise.

ninjascythe79 wrote:well if it's not bay then who? A poor mans bay like Mcg or brent ratner? I can't imagine they're going to go in a much different directiion. let's be real the forth installment is not often a very good one. Exhibit a the phantom menace exhibit b x-men origins wolverine exhibit c batman and robin. I could continue ( superman 4 anybody?) I doubt they're getting james cameron or ridley scott. Bay is ok. More of the same. As far as I'm concerned this is bay's to ruin (more) or fix like revenge of the sith.

Try Chris Nolan. Or Joe Johnston. Or Jon Favreau. Or J. J. Abrams. Alfonso Cuarón. Kurt Wimmer. Michael Mann. Duncan Jones. Bryan Singer. Ridley Scott. Peter Jackson. Neill Blomkamp. Gore Verbinski. Guillermo del Toro. Edward Zwick. Or hey, have Spielberg himself direct it.

Sabrblade wrote:

amtm wrote:It's pretty sad when a half hour cartoon can tell a story better than a 2.5 hour film.

Quoted for truth.

These movies treat the audience like dimwits, which we are not. We are smarter than that and deserve more respectable movies that don't insult our IQs.

Quoted for opinion.

On which I don't agree. TF Has never been about anything then selling toys and a batch of other stuff. If not for that, we'd have no TF's. It's exaclty what meets the eye.

Sabrblade wrote:

ninjascythe79 wrote:well if it's not bay then who? A poor mans bay like Mcg or brent ratner? I can't imagine they're going to go in a much different directiion. let's be real the forth installment is not often a very good one. Exhibit a the phantom menace exhibit b x-men origins wolverine exhibit c batman and robin. I could continue ( superman 4 anybody?) I doubt they're getting james cameron or ridley scott. Bay is ok. More of the same. As far as I'm concerned this is bay's to ruin (more) or fix like revenge of the sith.

Try Chris Nolan. Or Joe Johnston. Or Jon Favreau. Or J. J. Abrams. Alfonso Cuarón. Kurt Wimmer. Michael Mann. Duncan Jones. Bryan Singer. Ridley Scott. Peter Jackson. Neill Blomkamp. Gore Verbinski. Guillermo del Toro. Edward Zwick. Or hey, have Spielberg himself direct it.

J.J. Abrams always has great buildups, but he's got to learn how to properly finish his movies, haha. I'd love to see Guillermo del Toro do Transformers.. that'd be one unique flick.

RhA... I just love that your current rank is "Head master"
But I'd have to disagree with you about the show being just about selling merch.
The reason for its existence might be that (okay, it is), but the story writers who wrote for the toon actually needed to work, and they were able to be creative in their work, using the already fabricated moving pieces that came before the story they were about to write. The output that is each toon from the 80s were a result of the slick/futuristic/sci fi elements of the time. At the end of the day, I guarantee you each writer had a connection with the episode he wrote, and as he wrote it, wasn't thinkin about the money side of things.

MINDVVIPE wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

ninjascythe79 wrote:well if it's not bay then who? A poor mans bay like Mcg or brent ratner? I can't imagine they're going to go in a much different directiion. let's be real the forth installment is not often a very good one. Exhibit a the phantom menace exhibit b x-men origins wolverine exhibit c batman and robin. I could continue ( superman 4 anybody?) I doubt they're getting james cameron or ridley scott. Bay is ok. More of the same. As far as I'm concerned this is bay's to ruin (more) or fix like revenge of the sith.

Try Chris Nolan. Or Joe Johnston. Or Jon Favreau. Or J. J. Abrams. Alfonso Cuarón. Kurt Wimmer. Michael Mann. Duncan Jones. Bryan Singer. Ridley Scott. Peter Jackson. Neill Blomkamp. Gore Verbinski. Guillermo del Toro. Edward Zwick. Or hey, have Spielberg himself direct it.

J.J. Abrams always has great buildups, but he's got to learn how to properly finish his movies, haha. I'd love to see Guillermo del Toro do Transformers.. that'd be one unique flick.

RhA... I just love that your current rank is "Head master"

I'm holding out for 'Breastmaster'.

RhA wrote:TF Has never been about anything then selling toys and a batch of other stuff.

Tell that to all the great stories out there that weren't about toy gimmicks or marketing. As well as all the non-toy characters.

RhA wrote:I'm holding out for 'Breastmaster'.

I'm sure you'll rank up soon

Sabrblade wrote:

RhA wrote:TF Has never been about anything then selling toys and a batch of other stuff.

Tell that to all the great stories out there that weren't about toy gimmicks or marketing. As well as all the non-toy characters.

You happen to like those, which is okay. We're all fans of the same stuff and from time to time we get a writer who's a little closer to our likings, still doesn't make it any less of a product.

Your personal taste in characters or storytelling can't be an better then anyone who does like the movies. Personal taste can't be quantified and therefore can't be any better or worse then anyone else's.

People still try it, though.

Fact remains; Hasbro Takaratomy pulls the plug, no more money, no more TF's.

Sabrblade wrote:

SlyTF1 wrote:I agree too. There's no damn way the movies would be half as exciting with someone else. Everyone always wants to focus on boring ass stories and interactions with characters. I don't give a damn about any of that. I have Prime, Animated, and G1 if I want that stuff. But for these movies, all I want is robots killing each other, then transforming.

In other words, you don't want these movies to be substantially good. You just want them to be mind-numbing and pointless, with no reason for us to even care about the characters.

Seriously, none of these movies gave me any reasons why I should even care about who lives and who dies.

• Ironhide's murder by Sentinel? Barely knew him anyway.
• Megatron's deaths? Predictable.
• Optimus Prime's impalement? Typical.
• Sentinel Prime's death? Hey, it's only making Opitmus look more cold.
• Starscream's death? Pitiful.
• Jazz's death? Brushed off as though it were nothing.
• The Fallen's death? Abrupt.
• Jetfire's sacrifice? Noble, but he wasn't gonna last much longer at his age.
• Laserbeak's death? Kinda cool, but a savage like him wouldn't dare be kept alive by the writers.
• Any other Decepticons' deaths? Mere Redshirts.

There's something to be said about a film when the audience doesn't empathize with its (would-be) main stars.

I wanted to like these bots, but these films kept trying to sell Shia and his lover interests instead.

There is more to the TFs that mindless robot battling. Much more. 25+ years of lore are proof of that.

Thank you Sabrblade. A part of my soul died when I read the "who needs a story" part.

Story = everything. And it's not like the concept of story is new to the TF world. We just got stuck with a director that loves blowing crap up more than making us care about the things he's blowing up. You don't need to be making a chick flick to make viewers care :/

It's frightening how many people like mind-numbing nothingness movies these days...

You can typically tell how toy-centric a TF iteration is by how many characters are in it. More characters = more emphasis on selling toys; fewer characters = more emphasis on telling good stories.

Generations, RID, Armadaverse: mostly about selling toys. RID and Armadaverse were particularly abusive about this, as they were about the toys themselves collecting their own toys (protoforms/minicons/cyber planet keys)

Beast Era, Animated, Prime: mostly about telling stories. BW existed as toys first, but BM, Animated, and Prime were made with total disregard for the toy angle, as if the showrunners were unaware that Transformers also existed as a toy line. BM and Animated characters were given forms that were extremely difficult to accurately make into toys, and Prime toys weren't even on shelves yet when the first season ended.

Bayverse: mostly about **** getting blowed up real good. Didn't really have "characters" as such; just a Victoria's Secret underwear model, some computer-generated robots who each get 1-2 lines of dialog at most and a name if they're really lucky, and some kid running around yelling "AAAAAAAAAHHHHH NONONONONONONONO OPTIMUUUUUUSSSS NONONONO MIKAELAAAAA NONONONONONO!!!!" all the damn time.

Erailea wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

SlyTF1 wrote:I agree too. There's no damn way the movies would be half as exciting with someone else. Everyone always wants to focus on boring ass stories and interactions with characters. I don't give a damn about any of that. I have Prime, Animated, and G1 if I want that stuff. But for these movies, all I want is robots killing each other, then transforming.

In other words, you don't want these movies to be substantially good. You just want them to be mind-numbing and pointless, with no reason for us to even care about the characters.

Seriously, none of these movies gave me any reasons why I should even care about who lives and who dies.

• Ironhide's murder by Sentinel? Barely knew him anyway.
• Megatron's deaths? Predictable.
• Optimus Prime's impalement? Typical.
• Sentinel Prime's death? Hey, it's only making Opitmus look more cold.
• Starscream's death? Pitiful.
• Jazz's death? Brushed off as though it were nothing.
• The Fallen's death? Abrupt.
• Jetfire's sacrifice? Noble, but he wasn't gonna last much longer at his age.
• Laserbeak's death? Kinda cool, but a savage like him wouldn't dare be kept alive by the writers.
• Any other Decepticons' deaths? Mere Redshirts.

There's something to be said about a film when the audience doesn't empathize with its (would-be) main stars.

I wanted to like these bots, but these films kept trying to sell Shia and his lover interests instead.

There is more to the TFs that mindless robot battling. Much more. 25+ years of lore are proof of that.

Thank you Sabrblade. A part of my soul died when I read the "who needs a story" part.

Story = everything. And it's not like the concept of story is new to the TF world. We just got stuck with a director that loves blowing crap up more than making us care about the things he's blowing up. You don't need to be making a chick flick to make viewers care :/

It's frightening how many people like mind-numbing nothingness movies these days...

Why should this frighten anyone? It's not like there's never going to be another movie with a decent story again. TF just didn't really have a deep and rich story. Loads of other movies do and are still being made. It frightens me to think that there are people out there that assess intelligence as something which is based on what someone is looking at for two and a half hours. It's not like people will stop reading, learning or intelligently discuss stuff, just because they sometimes look at something stupid. I personally love it when I an sit down and do it. Puts my mind at easy for a while. Turns out Bay really appeals to that part of me.

No. A story is not always needed. You may prefer it, that's your opinion and I'm fine with that, just don't state it as either a fact or something we should all adhere to.