In what’s becoming a prevalent trend nowadays, it’s not enough for a movie to just be. For studios to eye up a pre-existing property, a popular kids toy or heck, even an original spec script for development, there has to be the possibility for sequels and spinoffs. If the concept doesn’t allude to a possible future instalment, or a time hop for a quickie origin tale, then it seems as if that idea won’t get past the preliminary stages of studios’ rigorous filmmaking process.
Bearing all that in mind, the cinematic landscape is currently shifting further and further towards an all-encompassing “movieverse.” Marvel and DC cornered the comic book ‘verses, Sony is ramping up their Ghostbusters ‘verse, and Disney is doing the same with Star Wars. Now, Paramount is set to expand one of their most-profitable franchises – Transformers – into a fully-blown cinematic universe.
Michael Bay, who brought the series to the big screen, won’t be directing any of the output from this new arrangement if Deadline‘s report is correct. According to their intel, Oscar-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman will head up a braintrust of creatives to bash out a series of new scripts set in the Transformers universe. He will oversee matters but it’s unlikely that he will script any of the decided movies.
Bay WILL executive produce, along with Steven Spielberg, Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Goldsman himself. Together, that roster will enlist writers to “incubate ideas for a potential multi-part Transformers sequel, and come up with potential spinoff films based on the billion-dollar franchise.” The word is that the studio are keen to push forward on this quickly, with Bay himself eager to move on a fifth Transformers movie when he wraps on current project 13 Hours.
Inter-connected movies are rapidly overtaking the market, and Paramount clearly wants in on the action. It’s no surprise that Transformers has been chosen as its serialized test subject, considering its a billion-dollar franchise that will continue to rake it in at the box office – in the guise of a cinematic universe or otherwise.