Steven Spielberg returns to 'Transformers' franchise as producer; Michael Bay in talks to direct

Washington DC [US], October 6 (ANI): Paramount Pictures and Hasbro are getting closer to bringing their 'Transformers' back to the big screen and look to be reuniting with some familiar faces to help bring the franchise back to life. The makers have appointed Steven Spielberg to focus on all creative aspects of the next live-action Transformers film alongside longtime producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, reported Deadline. 
According to the outlet, filmmaker Michael Bay is in early talks to return as director.  
Spielberg held a similar creative role for the first two Transformers films that launched the franchise, which has generated more than 5.4 billion USD in global box office revenue and turned Hasbro’s toy brand into a worldwide phenomenon.
Together, Spielberg and di Bonaventura will guide this new chapter to honour the spirit of the early Transformers films. Mark Vahradian, Don Murphy, Tom DeSanto and Hasbro will also produce, Deadline reported. 
The film is being developed based on a script by Jason Fuchs. Plot details are under wraps other than the film being set in modern-day. As the project is in early development, no cast details yet.
Since the first film opened in summer 2007, the franchise has become one of the biggest properties on the Paramount lot. Spielberg, Bay and di Bonaventura played major roles in that first film’s success, with Spielberg identifying Bay as his choice to direct the first film.
While Bay and di Bonaventura would remain the primary architects at the centre of the franchise for the next four instalments, Spielberg was less hands-on as exec producer.
Bay ultimately took a break from the franchise after the 2017 pic Transformers: The Last Knight. Since then, the most recent instalments, Bumblebee and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, while not complete misses, did not live up to the standards prior instalments had delivered on.
According to the outlet, the next decision was who would direct, with Bay being the first stop to see if he was up to returning. Bay had been open to the idea over the years and, after reading the script and meeting with Spielberg earlier this week, he was on board. (ANI)