Despite there being an ongoing pandemic right outside your window, Hollywood continues to operate as best they can behind closed doors. While news related to film and television has all but slowed to a crawl over the past few weeks, we've just received word via Deadline that explosion extraordinaire Michael Bay has signed his Bay Films to a multiyear first look deal with Sony Pictures to produce both film and TV projects.
If you flip back the pages of your Bay history books, you'll recall that Sony was where Bay made his directorial debut with 1995's BAD BOYS, starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. Meanwhile, Bay's latest effort, the break-neck action drama 6 UNDERGROUND, is close to celebrating a 100 million-view milestone over at Netflix. With a number like that, it's easy to see why Sony is once again looking to work alongside Bay and his seasoned team of outrageous movie makers. As per the deal, Bay will direct the ensemble drama BLACK FIVE, which is based on an original idea, with TOP GUN: MAVERICK's Ehren Kruger penning the script.
In addition to being the mastermind behind Paramount's Transformers franchise, and serving as a producer on franchises the likes of THE PURGE and John Krasinski's A QUIET PLACE, Bay recently acted as an executive producer on Amazon's hit series TOM CLANCY'S JACK RYAN. As a man of many studios, Bay previously executive produced TNT’s action drama pandemic series THE LAST SHIP, and the Starz! series BLACK SAILS, both of which ran for five exciting seasons.
While there's no shortage of entertainment currently being hosted by a myriad of television networks streaming services, big and small screen enthusiasts will always be looking for the next best thing to come along. That being said, it's entirely possible that some of those top-notch offerings will come from Sony's deal with Bay. My advice to Sony is to keep your accelerant warehouse well-stocked, and don't be surprised if Bay drains the supply bone-dry before the first day of filming is through.