Transformers (film series)

Transformers
Official franchise logo
Directed by	Michael Bay (1–5)
Produced by	Ian Bryce Tom DeSanto Lorenzo di Bonaventura Don Murphy
Based on	Transformers by Hasbro
Starring	Peter Cullen Mark Ryan Reno Wilson Frank Welker John DiMaggio Hugo Weaving (1–3) Robert Foxworth (1–4) Jess Harnell (1–3) Charlie Adler (1–3) Tom Kenny (2–3) Shia LaBeouf (1–3) Josh Duhamel (1–3, 5) Tyrese Gibson (1–3) John Turturro (1–3) Kevin Dunn (1–3) Julie White (1–3) Glenn Morshower (1–3) Megan Fox (1–2) Mark Wahlberg (4–5) Isabela Moner (5)
Music by	Steve Jablonsky
Production companies	Hasbro Studios diBonaventura Pictures
Distributed by	DreamWorks Pictures (1–2) Paramount Pictures
Release dates	2007 – present
Running time	615 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$755,000,000
Box office	$3,761,000,000

Transformers is a series of American science fiction action films based on the toys created by Hasbro and Tomy. Michael Bay has directed all four films so far: Transformers (2007), Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009), Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011), and Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) and he will return for Transformers: The Last Knight. Three upcoming films have been announced, including a spinoff based on the character Bumblebee, to be released between 2017 and 2019. The series has been distributed by Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks, and United International Pictures.

The series has received a mixed critical reception; critics expressed criticism on the plots, crude humor, overuse of product placements, and the lengths of the films. However, many praised the visual effects, action sequences, and music. It is currently the 9th highest-grossing film series and the 4th highest-grossing when averaged to gross per film, behind the The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Pirates of the Caribbean film series. It is one of only eight film series where two films grossed $1 billion worldwide in a franchise, after the Pirates of the Caribbean, The Dark Knight Trilogy, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Middle-Earth Serie, Despicable Me franchise, Jurassic Park and the Star Wars films.

The films concern a war spanning millennia between two factions of transformers, the Autobots and Decepticons. With their home world, Cybertron, destroyed, fighting moves to Earth, and involves the human race.

Films

Transformers (2007)

Transformers is the first film in the series, released on July 3, 2007. It grossed $709.7 million worldwide, and garnered generally favorable reviews. It was directed by Michael Bay from a screenplay by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, and starred Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox.

The film concerns a battle for the AllSpark, a source of life for and the recorded history of the Transformers, which had crash-landed on Earth following a civil war between Autobots, led by Optimus Prime and Decepticons, led by Megatron, on their home planet, Cybertron. Sam Witwicky (Shia Labeouf) is involved in the fight when a family heirloom of his is discovered to contain information about its whereabouts. It is revealed that the AllSpark had been kept within the Hoover Dam, where it was studied by the American Government. In order to prevent the Decepticons from securing the AllSpark, Sam pushes it into Megatron's chest, killing Megatron and destroying the AllSpark. With the last hope for Cybertron lost, the Autobots accept Earth as their new home, and Sam and Mikaela begin a relationship. In a mid-credits scene, Starscream (Charlie Adler) is seen fleeing into space, suggesting the war is not over.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is the second film in the series, released on June 24, 2009. It grossed $836.3 million worldwide, and garnered negative reviews, scoring 19% on Rotten Tomatoes to the first film's 57%. It was directed by Michael Bay from a screenplay by Ehren Kruger, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, and starred Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox.

Two years after the events in Transformers, the now-larger group of Autobots have allied with the US and UK military to form a unit known as NEST and hunt down the remaining Decepticons. Meanwhile, the Decepticons are attempting to revive an old foe of the Primes, called the Fallen, who intends to harvest the Earth's Sun to create Energon. Sam is preparing to go to college and have a normal life, but discovers a shard of the AllSpark that can bring Transformers to life. The Decepticons retrieve another shard and bring Megatron back to life, flying to the Nemesis ship where the Fallen is resting. Sam is taken to Megatron, where the Autobots rescue him, but Optimus Prime is killed by Megatron. Factions converge in Egypt, where the Sun Harvester has been hidden inside the Great Pyramid of Giza.

After seemingly giving his life in battle, Sam is contacted in a vision by the Seven Primes, a group of ancient Transformers, who tell him he has earned the right to bear the Matrix of Leadership and revive him. The Matrix has the power to revive Optimus, but it is also the key to the Sun Harvester. Optimus, once revived, absorbs the parts and power of an old Transformer, and destroys the Fallen and the Sun Harvester. Megatron escapes, swearing revenge.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)

Transformers: Dark of the Moon is the third film in the series, released on June 29, 2011 in 3D and IMAX 3D. It grossed $1.124 billion worldwide, and garnered mixed reviews with a 35% on Rotten tomatoes and was better received than Revenge of the Fallen. It was directed by Michael Bay from a screenplay by Ehren Kruger and starred Shia LaBeouf and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.

When the war on Cybertron between the Autobots and Decepticons appears lost to the Autobots, Sentinel Prime (Leonard Nimoy), attempted to launch the Ark, an Autobot ship from their planet, containing the technology that would change Cybertron's fate and save his race. However, it crash lands on Earth's Moon in 1961, forcing the President John F. Kennedy to make his famous promise to the nation to put a man on the Moon. In 1969, Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong launch a Apollo 11 mission moon landing and discover the Ark. In the present, three years after the events of Revenge of the Fallen, as Sam Witwicky goes into adulthood with a new girlfriend named Carly (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley), the Autobots find and recover the engine part of the Ark, after being attacked by Shockwave (Frank Welker) and his pet, the Driller, at the Chernobyl. Soon, they learn of the Ark and of Sentinel Prime on the far side of the Moon. When Jerry Wang (Ken Jeong) is killed by Laserbeak (Keith Szarabajka), Sentinel is brought back to Earth, and revived using the Matrix of Leadership. Optimus Prime convinces America's leadership that they must protect Sentinel and his "pillars" (including the Control pillar), which can help transport matter through time and space.

However, Sentinel betrays the Autobots, kills Ironhide, and allies with the Decepticons, and it is revealed that he made a deal with the Decepticons to restore the Transformer race by bringing a large army of Decepticons with the Pillars to Earth. Carly is captured by Soundwave and Dylan Gould (Patrick Dempsey). America's leaders decide to send the Autobots to another planet, folding to demands by Sentinel and the Decepticons. The Autobots use the ship, Xanthium built by the Wreckers - Roadbuster (Ron Bottitta), Leadfoot (John DiMaggio) and Topspin - to fly into space, but Starscream shoots their ship down. With the Autobots believed to be gone, Sentinel Prime activates the pillars, and Chicago, Illinois is seized by the Decepticons. They soon begin the reproduction of Cybertron, at the cost of Earth, its resources and humanity. It is revealed that the Autobots had faked their deaths, and Sam rescues Carly and kills Laserbeak. The Autobots and Decepticons makes their one final stand where Starscream, Soundwave, Barricade, Shockwave, the Driller and Wheeljack (George Coe) are all killed, as Optimus battles Sentinel and Sam battles Dylan. Megatron and wounds Sentinel, as Sam kills Dylan, before the Autobots destroy the Pillars, and Cybertron is destroyed. With Cybertron gone, Optimus finally kills Megatron, and kills Sentinel for betraying himself. With the war ended and Cybertron lost, the remaining Autobots accept Earth as their home and vow never to forsake it.

Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)

Transformers: Age of Extinction is the fourth film in the series, released on June 27, 2014 in 3D and IMAX 3D. It grossed $1.104 billion worldwide, and garnered negative reviews, holding the worst score on Rotten Tomatoes of the series thus far. It was directed by Michael Bay from a screenplay by Ehren Kruger, and starred Mark Wahlberg and Stanley Tucci.

Five years after the destructive battle of Chicago in Dark of the Moon, the human race no longer trusts the Transformers. Under the order of the agent Harold Attinger (Kelsey Grammer), a black ops team has been formed tasked with the extermination of all the Transformers. Attinger teams with the Cybertronian bounty hunter Lockdown (Mark Ryan), who is working to bring Optimus Prime to the Creators, and who has promised Attinger a "seed" in return for his help.

Mechanic Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg), purchases a rusty semi-truck intending to sell its parts for money to help his daughter Tessa (Nicola Peltz) pay for college. After examining the truck, it reveals itself to be a badly damaged Optimus Prime, and Cade decides to help repair him instead of reporting him, but the government and Lockdown finds them. As a result, the Yeagers and Tessa's boyfriend Shane (Jack Reynor) are forced to escape and team up with the five remaining Autobots – Optimus, Bumblebee, Drift (Ken Watanabe), Crosshairs (John DiMaggio) and Hound (John Goodman) – to kill Lockdown, Attinger, and his operation to give the humans back their freedom and avenge their fallen comrades. Meanwhile, the company KSI is building its own Transformers with cyber-matter ("Transformium") from the bodies of fallen Transformers, including Megatron, Sentinel, Ratchet, Leadfoot and others, and their CEO Joshua Joyce (Stanley Tucci) is working with Attinger to use the seed as part of a double deal to become rich and create an army of controllable Transformers.

KSI's prototype, Galvatron (Frank Welker), is possessed by the still living mind of Megatron, who adopts the name for himself. He plots to wait until Joshua has the Seed, possess the other fifty drones before taking it to make enough transformium to build a new army of Decepticons and exterminate humanity. Joshua discovers this, turns against Attinger, and teams up with Cade. Eventually, the Autobots pursue their enemies to Hong Kong, where they battle the Decepticons, Cade kills James Savoy (Titus Welliver) and Optimus releases the four Legendary Warriors to allow the Autobots to ride on them, to destroy the Decepticon army and defend Earth. The Yeagers, Shane and Joshua are faced with Attinger as they try to protect the Seed from Galvatron. Lockdown returns to take on Optimus, but Optimus kills both him and Attinger, before finishing the remaining KSI drones and winning the Autobots and the Warriors freedom, though Galvatron escapes. After setting the Warriors free, Optimus, knowing the Creators still want him, leaves the planet with the seed to find the Creators.

Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)

Transformers: The Last Knight is the fifth film in the series which will begin filming in June 2016 and is expected to be released on June 23, 2017. The plot will take place where the events of Age of Extinction left off. On October 31, 2014, Bay announced that he will be producing the film. On December 18, Mark Wahlberg confirmed that he will return for the sequel. In July 2015, Akiva Goldsman & Jeff Pinkner have been announced to write the script for the film. However, on November 20, due to Goldsman's commitments on creating a writer's room for G.I. Joe and Micronauts properties, Paramount began to negotiate with Art Marcum and Matt Holloway, as well as Ken Nolan, to write the film. In January 2016, it was confirmed that Bay would be producing the film and directing it, making his one last Transformers film. At the same time, he also revealed an underwater scene with a crashed alien spaceship and a cloaked dump truck Transformer. On April 7, 2016, Variety confirmed that Jonathan Sela will be the cinematographer for the film. Isabela Moner is cast in the female lead role of Izabella, a street-smart tomboy who grew up an orphan and was raised in foster care. There are reports that Bay is eyeing Jean Dujardin and Stephen Merchant for supporting roles and Jerrod Carmichael in talks for a role. On May 17, 2016, Josh Duhamel was confirmed to be returning as William Lennox. The title of the fifth film was announced on May 16, 2016 as The Last Knight with an announcement teaser revealing the logo and a close-up look over the face of Optimus Prime. Tyrese Gibson has shown interest in returning for the film.

Untitled Bumblebee film (2018)

On February 12, 2016, Tom Warner, the Transformers franchise leader for Hasbro announced that the sixth film of the series would be released on June 8, 2018. Later it was revealed that rather than a main entry, the film will be a spin-off, starring Bumblebee.

Transformers 6 (2019)

In his February 12, 2016 announcement, Tom Warner, the Transformers franchise leader for Hasbro also stated that the seventh film of the series would be released in 2019 and will be a sequel to Transformers: The Last Knight.

Transformers One (TBA)

As part of the writers' room collaboration, rendered by Paramount Pictures to determine the future of the franchise; a film centered around the origins of the Autobots and Decepticons, tentatively titled Transformers One, is currently in development with Ant-Man screenwriters Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari attached to the film.

Crossovers

On March 28, 2013, during the release of G.I. Joe: Retaliation, producer di Bonaventura announced that he is open to doing a G.I. Joe/Transformers crossover. On July 26, 2013, G.I. Joe: Retaliation director Jon M. Chu stated that he is also interested in directing a Transformers/G.I. Joe crossover film. Despite di Bonaventura having stated on June 23, 2014 that a crossover was not likely to happen, he later stated that a crossover was still a possibility.

On October 23, 2015, Jon M. Chu confirmed his intentions to make a crossover film between Transformers, G.I. Joe, and Jem. On October 29, 2015, Chu hinted about Transformers possibly doing crossover with other Hasbro products.

Expanded franchise

Main articles: Transformers (film comic series) and List of Transformers video games § Games based on the film series

In addition to the films, the film series has a promotional expanded series that is set both before and after the events of the films. This includes comic books, video games, and novels. While the novels are partially based on the films themselves, and the video games aren't in the same continuity as the films, the comic books and graphic novels are in the same continuity and fill in several parts of the stories that weren't expanded on enough in the films.

Cast and characters

Main articles: List of Transformers film series characters and List of Transformers film series cast and characters

Production and development

Transformers

For the first film, producer Don Murphy was planning a G.I. Joe film adaptation, but when the United States launched the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Hasbro suggested adapting the Transformers franchise instead. Tom DeSanto joined Murphy because he was a fan of the series. They met with comic book writer Simon Furman, and cited the Generation 1 cartoon and comics as their main influence. They made the Creation Matrix their plot device, though Murphy had it renamed because of the film series The Matrix. DeSanto chose to write the treatment from a human point of view to engage the audience, while Murphy wanted it to have a realistic tone, reminiscent of a disaster film. The treatment featured the Autobots Optimus Prime, Ironhide, Jazz, Prowl, Arcee, Ratchet, Wheeljack, and Bumblebee, and the Decepticons Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave, Ravage, Laserbeak, Rumble, Skywarp and Shockwave.

Steven Spielberg, a fan of the comics and toys, signed on as executive producer in 2004. John Rogers wrote the first draft, which pitted four Autobots against four Decepticons, and featured the Ark spaceship. Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, fans of the cartoon, were hired to rewrite the script in February 2005. Spielberg suggested that "a boy and his car" should be the focus. This appealed to Orci and Kurtzman because it conveyed themes of adulthood and responsibility, "the things that a car represents in the United States". The characters of Sam and Mikaela were the sole point of view given in Orci and Kurtzman's first draft. The Transformers had no dialogue, as the producers feared talking robots would look ridiculous. The writers felt that even if it would look silly, not having the robots speak would betray the fanbase. The first draft also had a battle scene in the Grand Canyon. Spielberg read each of Orci and Kurtzman's drafts and gave notes for improvement. The writers remained involved throughout production, adding additional dialogue for the robots during the sound mixing (although none of this was kept in the final film, which ran fifteen minutes shorter than the initial edit). Furman's The Ultimate Guide, published by Dorling Kindersley, remained as a resource to the writers throughout production. Prime Directive was used as a fake working title. This was also the name of Dreamwave Productions' first Transformers comic book.

Michael Bay was asked to direct by Spielberg on July 30, 2005, but he dismissed the film as a "stupid toy movie". Nonetheless, he wanted to work with Spielberg, and gained a new respect for the mythology upon visiting Hasbro. Bay considered the first draft "too kiddie", so he increased the military's role in the story. The writers sought inspiration from G.I. Joe for the soldier characters, being careful not to mix the brands. Because Orci and Kurtzman were concerned the film could feel like a military recruitment commercial, they chose to make the military believe nations like Iran were behind the Decepticon attack as well as making the Decepticons primarily military vehicles. Bay based Lennox' struggle to get to the Pentagon phoneline while struggling with an unhelpful operator from a real account he was given by a soldier when working on another film.

Orci and Kurtzman experimented with numerous robots from the franchise, ultimately selecting the characters most popular among the filmmakers to form the final cast. Bay acknowledged that most of the Decepticons were selected before their names or roles were developed, as Hasbro had to start designing the toys. Some of their names were changed because Bay was upset that they had been leaked. Optimus, Megatron, Bumblebee and Starscream were the only characters present in each version of the script. Arcee was a female Transformer introduced by Orci and Kurtzman, but she was cut because they found it difficult to explain robotic gender; Bay also disliked her motorcycle form, which he found too small. An early idea to have the Decepticons simultaneously strike multiple places around the world was also dropped, being used later in the film's sequels.

Revenge of the Fallen

For the second film, Paramount announced a late June 2009 release date for the sequel to Transformers in September 2007. A major hurdle that was overcome during the film's production was the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, as well as possible strikes by the Directors Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild. Bay began creating animatics of action sequences featuring characters rejected for the 2007 film. This would allow animators to complete sequences if the Directors Guild of America went on strike in July 2008, which ultimately did not happen. The director considered making a small project in between Transformers and its sequel, but knew "you have your baby and you don't want someone else to take it". The film was given a $200 million budget, which was $50 million more than the 2007 film, and some of the action scenes rejected for the original were written into the sequel, such as the way Optimus is reintroduced in this film. Lorenzo di Bonaventura said the studio proposed filming two sequels simultaneously, but he and Bay concurred that was not the right direction for the series.

Writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman originally passed on the sequel because of a busy schedule. The studio began courting other writers in May 2007, but as they were unimpressed with their pitches, they convinced Orci and Kurtzman to return. The studio also signed on Ehren Kruger, as he impressed Bay and Hasbro president Brian Goldner with his knowledge of the Transformers mythology, and because he was friends with Orci and Kurtzman. The writing trio were paid $8 million. Screenwriting was interrupted by the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, but to avoid production delays the writers spent two weeks writing a treatment, which they handed in the night before the strike began, and Bay expanded the outline into a sixty-page scriptment, fleshing out the action, adding more jokes, as well as selecting the majority of new characters. The three writers spent four months finishing the screenplay while "locked" in two hotel rooms by Bay: Kruger wrote in his own room and the trio would check on each other's work twice a day.

Orci described the film's theme as "being away from home", with the Autobots contemplating living on Earth as they cannot restore Cybertron, while Sam goes to college. He wanted the focus between the robots and humans "much more evenly balanced", "the stakes [to] be higher", and more focused on the science fiction elements. Lorenzo di Bonaventura said that in total, there are around forty robots in the film, while ILM's Scott Farrar has said there are actually sixty. Orci added he wanted to "modulate" the humor more, and felt he managed the more "outrageous" jokes by balancing it with a more serious plot approach to the Transformers' mythology. Bay concurred that he wanted to please fans by making the tone darker, and that "moms will think its safe enough to bring the kids back out to the movies" despite his trademark sense of humor.

Before Transformers was released, producer DeSanto had "a very cool idea" to introduce the Dinobots, while Bay was interested in an aircraft carrier, which was dropped from the 2007 film. Orci claimed they did not incorporate these characters into Revenge of the Fallen because they could not think of a way to justify the Dinobots' choice of form, and were unable to fit in the aircraft carrier. Orci also admitted he was also dismissive of the Dinobots because he does not like dinosaurs. "I recognize I am weird in that department", he said, but he became fonder of them during filming because of their popularity with fans. He added "I couldn't see why a Transformer would feel the need to disguise himself in front of a bunch of lizards. Movie-wise, I mean. Once the general audience is fully on board with the whole thing, maybe Dinobots in the future." However, upon being asked on the subject, Michael Bay said he hated the Dinobots and they had never been in consideration for being featured in the movies.

Dark of the Moon

For the third film, as a preemptive measure before the release of Revenge of the Fallen, Michael Lucchi and Paramount announced on March 16, 2009, that a third film would be released in IMAX 3D on July 1, 2011, which earned a surprised response from director Bay:

I said I was taking off a year from Transformers. Paramount made a mistake in dating Transformers 3—they asked me on the phone—I said yes to July 1—but for 2012—whoops! Not 2011! That would mean I would have to start prep in September. No way. My brain needs a break from fighting robots.

— 

Screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, who had worked on the two previous Transformers films, declined to return for the third film, with Kurtzman declaring that "the franchise is so wonderful that it deserves to be fresh, all the time. We just felt like we’d given it a lot and didn’t have an insight for where to go with it next". Revenge of the Fallen's co-writer Ehren Kruger became the sole screenwriter for Dark of the Moon. Kruger had frequent meetings with Industrial Light & Magic's (ILM) visual effects producers, who suggested plot points such as the scenes in Chernobyl.

On October 1, 2009, Bay revealed that Dark of the Moon had already gone into pre-production, and its planned release was back to its originally intended date of July 1, 2011, rather than 2012. Due to the revived interest in 3-D technology brought in by the success of Avatar, talks between Paramount, ILM, and Bay had considered the possibility of the next Transformers film being filmed in 3-D, and testing was performed to bring the technology into Bay's work. Bay originally was not much interested in the format as he felt it did not fit his "aggressive style" of filmmaking, but he was convinced after talks with Avatar director James Cameron, who even offered the technical crew from that film. Cameron reportedly told Bay about 3-D, "You gotta look at it as a toy, it's another fun tool to help get emotion and character and create an experience." Bay was reluctant to film with 3-D cameras since in test he found them to be too cumbersome for his filming style, but he did not want to implement the technology in post production either since he was not pleased with the results. In addition to using the 3-D Fusion camera rigs developed by Cameron's team, Bay and the team spent nine months developing a more portable 3-D camera that could be brought into location.

In a hidden extra for the Blu-ray release of Revenge of the Fallen, Bay expressed his intention to make Transformers 3 not necessarily larger than Revenge of the Fallen, but instead deeper into the mythology, to give it more character development, and to make it darker and more emotional. Unicron is briefly shown in a secret Transformers 3 preview feature in the Revenge of the Fallen Blu-ray disc. Ultimately, the producers decided to forgo a plot involving the planet-eating Transformer, and no further comments were ever made on the subject. Having been called Transformers 3 up to that point, the film's final title was revealed to be Dark of the Moon in October 2010. After Revenge of the Fallen was almost universally panned by critics, Bay acknowledged the general flaws of the script, having blamed the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike prior to the film for many problems. Bay promised to not have the "dorky comedy" from the last film. On March 19, 2010, the script was said to be finished.

Age of Extinction

For the fourth film, producer di Bonaventura stated that a fourth film is in the works aiming for a 2014 release with Michael Bay to direct and produce the film. On the same day, Paramount Pictures and Michael Bay announced a June 27, 2014 release date for a fourth film. Ehren Kruger will pen the script and Steve Jablonsky will score the film, as each did with the previous film. The film will take place four years after the events in Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Shia LaBeouf will not return in any future installments. Mark Wahlberg has instead been cast in the lead role. In November 2012, casting began to search for two more leads. Isabelle Cornish, Nicola Peltz, Gabriella Wilde and Margaret Qualley were all considered to play the daughter of Mark Wahlberg's character while Luke Grimes, Landon Liboiron, Brenton Thwaites, Jack Reynor and Hunter Parrish were all considered to play the race car driving boyfriend. It is also reported that the three leads are contracted for three films. Bay announced on his website that Reynor is the race car driving boyfriend and that the fourth film will start the next installment in the overall series. The film will be a darker sequel to Dark of the Moon and that Transformers 4 will have a different feeling. Peter Cullen, who voiced Optimus Prime in the films, will reprise his role. Tyrese Gibson is in talks to reprise his role. Glenn Morshower stated that he was contracted for two films and he will reprise his role, but was later confirmed that Morshower would not be returning. Filming is expected to take place between April and November 2013 in London with a budget of $165 million once Pain & Gain, a film that Bay is also directing, is finished editing.

On January 8, 2013, it was announced that Reynor would be joining Wahlberg in the lead. On the Michaelbay.com forums, Nelson, the administrator of the website, confirmed that filming will take place in Chicago. On March 20, 2013, The film's plot reads: As humanity picks up the pieces, following the conclusion of Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Autobots and Decepticons have all but vanished from the face of the planet. However, a group of powerful, ingenious businessman and scientists attempt to learn from past Transformer incursions and push the boundaries of technology beyond what they can control – all while an ancient, powerful Transformer menace sets Earth in his crosshairs. The epic adventure and battle between good and evil, freedom and enslavement ensues. But it was later to be inaccurate.

On March 26, 2013, Nicola Peltz was cast as the female lead. Bay confirmed that the movie will be in 3D. Bay revealed to Collider that actor Stanley Tucci has joined the cast, and that the film will be the first feature film to be shot using smaller digital IMAX 3D cameras. On May 1, 2013, actor Kelsey Grammer is cast as the lead human villain named "Harold Attinger". On May 6, 2013, actress Sophia Myles is cast in a major supporting role. That same month, Chinese actress Li Bingbing and comedian T. J. Miller joined the cast.

Actor T. J. Miller has been confirmed to have joined the cast, playing Mark Wahlberg's character's best friend who is a mechanic. Also revealed are two Autobots who will have the following alternate modes — a black and blue 2013 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse  named "Drift", and a green 2014 C7 Corvette Stingray concept named Crosshairs. Also revealed is a truck from Western Star Trucks will be Optimus Prime's new alternate mode for the new movie. Bumblebee's new alt mode has been revealed to be a modified vintage 1967 Chevrolet Camaro, which later transforms into a 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Concept. A green military vehicle (later confirmed to be Hound) and a white Emergency Response Vehicle have also been revealed.

Filming began in June 2013, being carried on in Detroit, Chicago, Austin, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong.

Future and shared universe

On March 28, 2013, during the release of G.I. Joe: Retaliation, producer di Bonaventura announced that he is open to doing a G.I. Joe/Transformers crossover. On July 26, 2013, G.I. Joe: Retaliation director Jon M. Chu stated that he is also interested in directing a Transformers/G.I. Joe crossover film. Despite di Bonaventura having stated on June 23, 2014 that a crossover was not likely to happen, he later stated that a crossover was still a possibility.

In March 2015, Akiva Goldsman was tasked to create a "Transformers Cinematic Universe", as to oversee the development of a multi-part sequel, along with prequels and spin-off films in a "writer’s room" style brain trust. In May 2015, Deadline reported that Robert Kirkman, Zak Penn, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway, Jeff Pinkner, Andrew Barrer, Gabrial Ferrari, Christina Hodson, Lindsey Beer, Ken Nolan, Geneva Robertson-Dworet, and Steven DeKnight will write spin-offs, potentially titled Beast Wars and Transformers One and sequels for the franchise. At least 12 films will be pitched for the "Transformers Cinematic Universe". On September 17, 2015, Deadline reported that Barrer and Ferrari will write an animated film that will explore the origins in Cybertron, with a working title Transformers One. The writer's room also resulted in the three announced Transformer films which are currently in development.

On October 23, 2015, Jon M. Chu confirmed his intentions to make a crossover film between Transformers, G.I. Joe, and Jem. On October 29, 2015, Chu hinted about Transformers possibly doing crossover with other Hasbro products.

Reception

Academy Awards

Award	Film
	Transformers (2007)	Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)	Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)	Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)
Sound Editing	Nomination		Nomination
Sound Mixing	Nomination
Visual Effects	Nomination		Nomination

Box office performance

Film	Release date	Box office revenue			Box office ranking		Budget	Reference
		North America	Other territories	Worldwide	All time North America	All time worldwide
Transformers	July 3, 2007	$319,246,193	$390,463,587	$709,709,780	#36 #114(A)	#69	$150 million
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen	June 24, 2009	$402,111,870	$434,191,823	$836,303,693	#18 #81(A)	#44	$200 million
Transformers: Dark of the Moon	June 29, 2011	$352,390,543	$771,403,536	$1,123,794,079	#27 #129(A)	#10	$195 million
Transformers: Age of Extinction	June 27, 2014	$245,439,076	$858,614,996	$1,104,054,072	#91	#14	$210 million
Total		$1,319,187,682	$2,454,673,942	$3,773,861,624			$755 million
List indicator(s) (A) indicates the adjusted totals based on current ticket prices (calculated by Box Office Mojo).

Critical and public reception

Film	Rotten Tomatoes	Metacritic	CinemaScore
Transformers	57% (219 reviews)	61 (35 reviews)	A
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen	19% (242 reviews)	35 (32 reviews)	B+
Transformers: Dark of the Moon	35% (245 reviews)	42 (37 reviews)	A
Transformers: Age of Extinction	18% (180 reviews)	32 (38 reviews)	A-
Average	32%	43	A-

See also

• The Transformers: The Movie, a 1986 animated film based on the TV series
• Transformers: The Ride, an amusement ride based on the film series
• G.I. Joe film series

External links

• Official website
• Transformers film series at AllMovie