All eyes are on Jerrod Carmichael – the young NBC star making a name for himself by creating his own material – as he begins to segue into film roles in an increasingly big way. Having created his own comedy series, The Carmichael Show, the actor will soon be seen reprising his Bad Neighbours role in the upcoming sequel, and is now tipped to join the cast of Transformers 5.
The fifth instalment in what has now become a multi-billion dollar film franchise will be directed by Michael Bay in Detroit this summer. The legendary action director kickstarted the Transformers film series back in 2007, when the robots in disguise stormed the screen alongside Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Anthony Anderson and Jon Voight. A sequel followed in 2009 with largely the same cast, while Rosie Huntington-Whitely replaced Megan Fox as the token female in the third film – released in 2011.
Transformers: Age of Extinction, released in 2014 as the fourth film in the series, saw an onscreen changing of the guard – with Mark Wahlberg, Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor, Stanley Tucci, Kelsey Grammer and Titus Welliver joining proceedings. While our own Matt Donato characterised it as a “middling…bit of clunky chaos,” Transformers: Age Of Extinction still found its loyal audience in theatres, and effortlessly raked in a giant box-office take. The announcement of Transformers 5 may have been met with equal parts eye-rolling and fan-squealing, but the fact remains that this is an immensely popular film franchise, guaranteed to be seen by millions.
This is, essentially, the important point, when it comes to the casting of Jerrod Carmichael. Transformers 5 won’t be especially artful, nor will it probably require much of a skill-stretch from its performers. But, it will be a box office hit, and it will introduce this young artist to a far wider audience than NBC currently does – well-received though The Carmichael Show may be.