Ever since he wrapped "Transformers: Age Of Extinction," Michael Bay has said that’s his last dance with Autobots and Decepticons, and that’ll he’ll be passing the franchise to new hands. But just when he thinks he’s out, they pull him back in. It seems he can’t leave the Hasbro brand behind, and it looks like once again the filmmaker will make robots go boom with hundreds of millions of dollars at his disposal.
READ MORE: Review: Michael Bay’s ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’ Starring Mark Wahlberg
Chatting with Rolling Stone, Bay revealed "I’m doing ‘Transformers … 5,’ is it? I’ve taken on a lot of work," he said, with the latter part of that statement referring to his producing duties on a handful of movies including the upcoming "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" sequel. Bay’s fifth run at the franchise will reunite him with ‘Age Of Extinction’ star Mark Wahlberg, with the picture expected to drop in 2017, one of just a planned decade of "Transformers" sequels, spinoffs, and more.
Even though he’s spent nearly a decade making toys fight toys, the director — who has found time to make non-branded movies like "Pain & Gain" and the upcoming "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers Of Benghazi" — is now unironically lamenting the death of movies of mid-sized movies (remember, there’s a documentary about African elephants he’s been wanting to make for a while now).
"The movie industry has really changed," Bay said. "The middle-[budget] movie is basically gone. They just want these big movies. ‘Transformers,’ I still have a great time. It’s fun to do a movie that 100 million people will see. But this is the last one. I have to pass the reins to someone else."
Well, we’ve heard that before, and if the industry keeps going the way it is, I won’t be surprised see Bay make "Transformers 6." And oh, if you’re wondering why Bay, who says he’s worth half-a-billion dollars, doesn’t just finance his own indie flick or maybe start a studio, there’s a reason for that.
"…you save up your money and you give it away. That’s what I’m going to do. I’ll probably do a very large wildlife-protection fund — something with Africa and big game," he said, adding that’ll donate "All of it. Not yet. One day." So, even if you can’t stand those "Transformers," at least rest easy knowing that the money Bay is making from there will end up serving a good cause.