If there is one thing in the current movie industry that you can bank on it is the fact that studios and producers are more likely to greenlight sequels and franchises than original standalone films. It is based on that logic that it came as no surprise when we heard Michael Bay was planning TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION to be the first in a new trilogy of movies based on the Hasbro toyline. It was also not surprising when we heard last week that TRANSFORMERS 5 was on pace for a release in 2016. What is surprising is that one TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION producer is saying neither of those is a lock.
Franchise producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura told IGN that TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION is not designed as a launching pad for further sequels.
”We’re not planning on doing a trilogy,” di Bonaventura said, quickly adding “We’re not not planning on doing a trilogy. It’s really a one-movie-at-a-time philosophy.” Anything else, he suggested, “feels a little arrogant. Both [Bay] and I feel like it’s a little arrogant of us to presume success each time. We know our fans are really out there and they’re going to come, so we presume a certain amount of success. But all the energy will be thrown into the next movie, if we’re lucky enough to get there.”
There can be a certain arrogance when your franchise boasts the incredible box office returns that each TRANSFORMERS film has grossed. TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION is a direct sequel to the first three films that starred Shia LaBeouf while introducing an entire new cast of human characters and a plot that takes the alien robots in a different direction than we have seen to date. But, di Bonaventura also went on to say that even as they do develop sequels, spin-offs are not in the cards as they have been for some superhero franchises.
“Honestly, there’s been no discussion of it because we’ve been in the business of making [the core series] bigger and bigger,” he said. “I think a lot of those spinoffs tend to happen when something’s plateaued. We’re not at that place yet, hopefully. One of the things that people underestimate about the Transformers mythology is how rich it is…there is an enormous number of characters; there’s a helluva lot of storylines, etcetera.”
I could argue that the strength of the plot and mythology is not exactly the driving force for fans going to see TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION rather than incredible CGI effects and big things going boom. But, I will respect the decision to not water down the series as I don’t think anyone could stand more than one TRANSFORMERS movie ever few years.
TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION opens this Friday.