Since 2007, the live-action "Transformers" movie series has continued to this day, with the latest one being released in 2023. Most of the films in this series were directed by Michael Bay, and the entire franchise has become closely associated with his style.
However, he has only served as a producer on the last two films and has not directed a Transformers movie since 2017.
The main reason for Michael Bay's departure from the series was that production of the series was expected to take longer. What's more, some of the films received generally negative reviews, and it wasn't until he left the director's chair that the series' reputation improved.
Now, the "Transformers" brand as a whole is moving away from the influence of Michael Bay's movies, and the first film is about to celebrate its 20th anniversary.
Director Bay has no intention of making 5 movies
The original live-action "Transformers" movie was released in 2007, directed by Michael Bay and produced by Steven Spielberg. This was followed by "Transformers: Revengeance" in 2009 and "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" in 2011.
's first film received mixed reviews, but among more tolerant fans, generally considers it to be the only good film directed by Bei. Instead, Vengeance was universally considered a disaster, and its sequel didn't receive much critical acclaim.
Despite this, the series continues to grow at the box office, and major production company Paramount hopes to continue this success. Therefore, Bei returned to participate in 2014's "Transformers: Age of Extinction" and 2017's "Transformers: The Last Knight."
It is worth noting that Director Bei never planned to return to direct another film in the series after "Dark of the Moon". Steven Spielberg once told Michael Bay to only make three movies, which was a condition of his agreement.
However, the success of the third film induced him to make more films. Negative reviews peaked with the last two films directed by Bei, especially his fifth, Transformers: The Last Knight. The film was hated by many, even those who were relatively tolerant of the series in the first place.
This was reflected in the film's box office receipts, which grossed just over $600 million, $100 million less than the first film, indicating that the series needed new blood.
"Bumblebee" breathes new life into the series
A year after the release of "Transformers: The Last Knight," audiences saw a completely different "Transformers" movie - "Bumblebee."
The film was originally a prequel, showing Bumblebee's first trip to Earth. The film is set in the 1980s and tells the story of a yellow Autobot who transforms into a classic Volkswagen Beetle, befriends a young woman named Charlie, and fends off the Decepticons who are hunting him.
Bumblebee focused more on character development and is considered by fans and critics to be the only truly superior film in the series. This finally improves the reputation of the series, showing both visual effects and excellent characterization.
In addition to the improvement in quality, the film has another major change. It is not directed by Michael Bay, but only serves as a producer. The film was initially positioned as a prequel, but was eventually changed to a reboot. The same situation also occurs in the 2023 sequel " Transformers: Rise of the Power Warriors ".
The film, directed by Steven Kapler-Jul, is set in the 1990s and introduces the Big Mac form from "Beast Warriors: Transformers".
However, it still received mixed reviews, with many considering it a step back from Bumblebee. The next film in the
series will be this year's animated film "Transformers One," which tells the origin story of Cybertron and shows the first confrontation between Optimus Prime and Megatron.
Although the animated film is tentatively believed to be in the same timeline as the live-action series, it is currently unknown whether it will be Bumblebee or a prequel to the Michael Bay-directed film.
once again emphasized that Director Bei is still only serving as a producer this time, not a director.
Many of the Transformers cartoons and other media releases released after the films have incorporated elements from them, especially in the design of some of the characters. For example, the image of Bumblebee in Transformers: Apex is a direct reference to the version in the movie.
Likewise, Megatron's design is a fusion of Megatron from the original generation cartoon and the version from the 2007 Transformers movie.
Recently, however, the Transformers series has begun to deviate from this route, adopting a more classic, G1-based aesthetic. The current Transformers: Legacy toy line, in particular, applies this aesthetic to characters from different continuities but eschews the live-action movies almost entirely.
Therefore, it can be said that Michael Bay's influence on the series is waning.
Director Bay's Later Career
Although Michael Bay has not served as the director of the "Transformers" series since 2017, he is still very busy at work. In 2018, he directed the Netflix action movie "6 Underground" starring Ryan Reynolds. However, the film received fairly negative reviews, many of which were similar to Bay's other films, particularly Transformers.
His most recent film was the more low-key thriller Ambulance, a remake of the 2005 Danish film. Although it didn't perform well at the box office, the film received slightly better reviews than his previous work. His most recently announced project is an untitled series directed and produced for A&E Studios and Amazon Prime Studios.
He also produced two live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies, the first of which was initially controversial for its planned changes to the villainous armored ninjas. The series has since been rebooted with the animated film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, which will spawn a sequel film and television series.
As for "Transformers", the future prospects of the series as a movie series are still unknown. If "Transformers One" is successful at the box office, animated movies may be a more feasible option.
However, no matter where the series goes on the big screen, it looks like Michael Bay won't be the man behind the camera anymore.
