Despite increasingly negative reviews with each passing instalment, Michael Bay’s Transformers franchise has become one of the biggest in Hollywood history. When the third film, Dark of the Moon, crossed the billion-dollar box office mark in 2011, we knew that a fourth outing wouldn’t be too far behind. Sure enough, Bay decided to stick around a bit longer, and is bringing Transformers: Age of Extinction to theaters this June.
There’s little doubt that the movie will be a tremendous hit at the box office, especially considering the inclusion of the fan-favorite Dinobots as well as the absence of Shia LaBeouf. With this instalment introducing us to a whole new cast of human characters (including Mark Wahlberg, a box office draw) and serving as a bit of a “relaunch” of the series, you can bet that Paramount and Hasbro have got plans for at least another trilogy.
To add a bit of credence to that train of thought, some leaked licensing materials (seen above) suggest that the next movie is slated for the summer of 2017. Transformers World 2005 discovered a bunch of marketing materials on the website of Vilsco Textiles, a licensee from Australia. That discovery included concept art, new toys, and what looks like a schedule for upcoming Transformers properties.
The item in the bottom right-hand corner tell us that a fifth Transformers movie is planned for the second quarter 2017, which gives Paramount three years to work on it. That’s the same amount of time that was taken between Dark of the Moon and Age of Extinction, so the timeframe makes sense. Of course, there’s no official word on this, or proof of the schedule’s validity.
Does Vilsco know something we don’t? Possibly. Right now there’s no way to tell, but it’s simply naive to think that Bay hasn’t at least talked with Paramount and Hasbro about the future of their mega franchise. We may not hear any official announcements for some time, but we’ll keep our ears to the ground as Age of Extinction‘s June 27th release date draws closer.