Variety is fanning the flames of more Transformers films on the heels of this morning’s report that Paramount was in active discussions to bring back director Michael Bay and producer Steven Spielberg for Transformers 4 with news the studio may now be planning to shoot fourth and fifth installments back-to-back.
There does seem to be confirmation Shia LaBeouf won’t be returning as Sam Witwicky, but added to this puzzle. Variety is spreading a rumor that Jason Statham‘s name has been mentioned as a potential new headliner, a move that would obviously change the structure of the stories from being about a snotty kid to being about a guy that shaves his head, greases up, takes his shirt off and drives really fast.
Variety‘s Marc Graser and Justin Kroll say screenwriter Ehren Kruger has an idea for the next installments that Paramount is high on, and has only begun engaging with writers.
Bay and Spielberg would remain as executive producers, but Variety is hearing Bay is also still interested in directing despite the quote I gave you this morning with Bay saying, “I am finished doing this.” The report does say he could probably fit Pain and Gain, the heist project he’s been talking about for years, in before production on Transformers 4 and Transformers 5 conceivably began in late 2012 or early 2013.
