Prime, Bumblebee and the rest of the Autobots have been confirmed for a return to the big screen in 2014, with the film teased only with the image of half a Transformers logo with the number 4 on the official website. However, the big news is that the majority of the human cast is getting a big reshuffle for the 2014 movie, bringing in a whole new series of characters to take the robotic live action recreation of the classic eighties sci-fi cartoon forward.
However, unlike the Spider-Man films, it’s not so much getting a full reboot as it’s being taken in a different direction to slightly reinvent the franchise from what we can make out. The only real change in terms of continuity seems to be in relation to the Witwicky contingent with Shia Le-Beouf moving on from the series, along with his parents and potential love interests, in favour of a new set of human buddies for the Autobots.
The new cast brings with it a new storyline, but details are fairly thin on the ground at the moment. What we know for sure is that Transformers 4 will be a direct sequel following to 2011’s Dark of the Moon, picking up exactly 4 years afters the battle in Chicago to stop Sentinel and Megatron from enslaving humanity. With both destroyed by Prime, it’ll be interesting to see whether or not there will be a new leader for the deceptions or if they’ll find a way to bring Megatron back from the dead once again.
Michael Bay will be directing the fourth installation, following on from the same role for Dark of the Moon, Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen and the opening movie in the series. Ehren Kruger written the screenplay once again and Steven Spielberg has returned to his place as the series Executive Producer.
According to Bay’s website, the new cast for the movie includes Mark Wahlberg, who he worked with recently on Pain and Gain. He’s also announced a couple of relative newcomers including Irish actor, Jack Reynor and Nicola Peltz (The Last Airbender).
Filming began in May at the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. As well as the existing roster of Autobots, with Bumblebee getting a new lick of paint with the 2014 concept Camero, there’s also going to be a few new supercar freedom fighters, bringing the C7 Corvette Stingray, Bugatti Grand Sport Vitesse, 2013 Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 Coupe and the Pagani Huayra.
Transformers 4 has been confirmed for a release date of the 27th June 2013, giving it a pretty good shot of being yet another massive box office success for creators Hasbro and distributors Paramount Pictures. Director, Bay, has stated that, “This Transformers will feel very different than the last three. We are embarking on a new trilogy.” so expect a new direction for the Autobot and Decepticon battle.
