Asked what’s next for the “Transformers ” franchise literally a few hours after he finished “Transformers: Age of Exctinction,” Michael Bay quipped half-seriously, “there’s a lot that’s unexplored, but that’s for the next director to figure out.” He added “they’re hard movies to do and it takes every day for two years. They’re fun, but they’re hard.” Bay has talked about a potential handoff in the past, saying he’d oversee a new cast and some pre-production, and then split. But it seems he meant it this time.
In an interview with USA Today, the paper says the filmmaker “believes he will pass the baton for future Transformer movies to a new director while he turns his focus elsewhere.”
"There’s kind of a new chapter, a new direction in movies I want to make," Bay said. "I have a lot of stories to tell. And it’s about flexing new muscles." One of those directions is a passion project, a documentary regarding elephant poaching which the filmmaker has discussed in the past.
Should this come to pass, it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. One could argue that, through his Platinum Dunes production shingle, Bay has already handed off projects to some of his younger protégés, like Jonathan Liebesman, director of this weekend’s box office champ “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” (which did so well at the box-office a sequel is already on the way).
“Transformers: Age of Exctinction,” is the highest grossing film of 2014 worldwide and will likely remain so for the rest of the year. The movie is also the 9th highest grossing picture of all time worldwide. Domestically, it’s the third highest grossing film of the year and may very well make it to #1. Bay has conquered blockbuster filmmaking and thus has nowhere to go in the genre, so perhaps he has a sincere desire to test his mettle in other cinematic arenas.
End of an era? Do you care? Are you happy to see Bay take on more “Pain & Gain”-esque non-Transformers projects? Sound off below.