$1,119,241,043 worldwide for “Transformers: The Dark Of The Moon.” That’s pretty much the only reason why Hasbro is (obviously) looking at another entry in their “Transformers” franchise. That, and the fact that it’s the only movie property they have right now generating any money (not to mention it played a big role in the company’s third quarter earnings going up 10%).
Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner got on the horn with investors this morning in a conference call where he provided some minor updates on a number of the movie projects they have in various stages of development. Foremost, he says that he’s talking with Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg — director and producer on the “Transformers” movies — about a fourth installment which is really not at all that surprising. But don’t be shocked if Bay doesn’t return to direct and just teams with Spielberg on producing duties for the inevitable “Transformers 4: Insert Ridiculous Sub-Title Here.” Franchise star Shia LaBeouf has already said he won’t be coming back and Bay wants to do the small crime flick “Pain and Gain” next. Prequel, Megan Fox-centered spinoff, a whole new trilogy? Who knows (who cares). But yeah, another movie about robots destroying stuff is in the works (not counting Spielberg’s forthcoming “Robopocalypse“).
Moving on, even though Universal wisely dropped “Ouija” like a hot potato, Goldner says it’s still happening. Making a (bold) comparison to “The Lone Ranger” is terms of trimming back the size and scale of the movie, the CEO says the script is getting a polish and it could be ready to start being shopped again to interested studios. Whether or not McG is still attached to direct is unclear, but we doubt he has anything better to do.
And oh yeah, remember when it was announced two years ago that J.J. Abrams might be involved in producing a “Micronauts” movie? Well, that’s still happening, though it’s still at script stage and all those other bad ideas for movies like “Candyland,” “Risk,” “Stretch Armstrong,” “Clue” and “Monopoly” are all still in development too. So here’s what you have to look forward to at the mulitplex folks. God help us all.
The next Hasbro movie, the Rihanna-starring “Battleship,” hits theaters on May 18, 2012. [THR]
