Two new “Transformers” projects are in development simultaneously as Paramount Pictures looks to revamp the franchise, according to a person familiar with the project.
Joby Harold (“Army of the Dead”) and James Vanderbilt (“Zodiac”) will write each respective film. Plot details are being kept under wraps and there are currently no directors attached to each.
For years, “Transformers†has been the ultimate critically-proof franchise. Reviews of movies like “Revenge of the Fallen” and “Dark of the Moon” were overwhelmingly negative, but fans and families showed up in droves every summer for the release of one of these films, to the tune of more. a billion dollars each.
Read also: ‘Transformers’ origin story takes place on Netflix as an animated series
“Transformers†peaked in 2011 with its third installment, “Dark of the Moon,†with $ 1.12 billion, a year in which Paramount topped all studios with $ 1.95 billion in domestic revenue with 19.2% market share.
“The Last Knight”, despite being the first film in the series to gross less than $ 200 million nationally, was Paramount’s first release in 2017 where the studio grossed just $ 534 million at the country with a market share of only 4.8%.
The Travis Knight directed “Bumblebee” grossed $ 127.2 million domestically and $ 340.8 million internationally, for a gross worldwide total of $ 468 million, against an estimated production budget of $ 135 million. of dollars. “Bumblebee†has the franchise’s best 93% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Harold, who worked on the last two “John Wick” films, is replaced by Kaplan / Perrone Entertainment and Goodman Schenkman. Vanderbilt co-wrote the “Amazing Spider-Man” movies with Andrew Garfield and also wrote Netflix’s Adam Sandler hit, “Murder Mystery”. Vanderbilt is replaced by UFUSE Management and McKuin Frankel.
All 6 “Transformers” Movies Ranked, Worst To Best, Including “Bumblebee”
“Transformers†is probably the strangest, craziest biggest movie franchise – an admirable thing if you’re an action trash genre aficionado like me. “Bumblebee†represents a change from the Michael Bay movies, in that it’s generally calmer and more, well, normal. So how does the prequel stack up against Bay’s last decade of robot craze?
6. “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” (2009) Everything about this one is just … too much. And the Arcee (RC) twins, aka the Racial Caricature Bots, are simply inexcusable.
5. “Transformers: Age of Extinction” (2014) Michael Bay’s libertarian cope is fun enough, but quite straightforward and frustrating. We prefer when these films indulge in paranoid government conspiracy theories.
4. “Transformers: The Last Knight” (2017) Easily the most incomprehensible of the “Transformers” movies, but also the funniest one – thanks in no small part to Anthony Hopkins having the absolute time of his life. It is also perhaps the most striking of all Michael Bay films.
3. “Transformers” (2007) By the standards of this franchise, the first movie was the closest to a “normal” movie. It’s wonderful, but not excessive enough.
2. “Bumblebee” (2018) It’s cooler, more consistent, and generally healthier than the rest. And yes, it is delicious. Hailee Steinfeld is a miracle for how she is able to evoke all of these emotions acting against a CGI robot.
1. “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” (2011) The third film, however, is exactly pretty over the top, with a third act that’s just a good hour of urban robot warfare. Plus, John Malkovich is weird and Frances McDormand is the required government puppet. To top it off, you’ve got the traitor Leonard Nimoy-bot trying to usher in the Trump Tower apocalypse in Chicago – in 2017, no other “Transformers” movie looks so correct.
How does Travis Knight’s prequel “Bumblebee” hold up against Michael Bay’s robot epics?
“Transformers†is probably the strangest, craziest biggest movie franchise – an admirable thing if you’re an action trash genre aficionado like me. “Bumblebee†represents a change from the Michael Bay movies, in that it’s generally calmer and more, well, normal. So how does the prequel stack up against Bay’s last decade of robot craze?
