Transformers Franchise Officially Returns with Spielberg, Michael Bay

After back-to-back Transformers box office duds, Paramount is going back to Bay

Paramount's $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery is now complete, and the new media powerhouse appears to be moving quickly on the Transformers brand. According to a new report, Paramount Pictures has tapped Steven Spielberg to "focus on all creative aspects of the next live-action Transformers film" and is bringing back the series' most proven director to revive the movie franchise.

Love him or hate him, that means Michael Bay may once again return to the Transformers franchise to right the Cybertronian ship.

Michael Bay returns to Transformers

According to Deadline, Spielberg will serve as executive producer on a new live-action Transformers movie and lead its creative direction. Michael Bay, who directed the first five live-action Transformers movies, is reportedly in early talks to direct the eighth entry in the faltering film franchise. Longtime Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura is also returning to produce with Spielberg.

Deadline says that the new Transformers movie also has a screenwriter attached: Jason Fuchs. His credits include Wonder Woman and Argylle, and Fuchs co-created HBO's It: Welcome to Derry. Bay reportedly liked Fuchs' script enough to return to the Transformers franchise after a nearly 10-year break.

Bay directed the first live-action Transformers, which premiered in 2007, and four follow-ups: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Transformers: Age of Extinction, and Transformers: The Last Knight. Those five movies, released through 2017, grossed more than $4.4 billion at the worldwide box office.

In the post-Bay era, Paramount Pictures released the Transformers prequel Bumblebee, which was a modest success, and the underperforming sequel, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. Paramount attempted another prequel in 2024 with the animated movie Transformers One, but despite critical acclaim for that star-studded feature, it also underperformed at the box office.

Paramount was planning a Transformers-G.I. Joe crossover, which was teased in Rise of the Beasts, but that project has since been scrapped. The film studio is now working on a stand-alone G.I. Joe movie from director Danny McBride, which will star Bradley Cooper as the leader of the Joes.