Prolific but controversial director Michael Bay has announced his next two films. First is an original action movie, penned by ‘Deadpool’ scribes Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. The second is a bit of a surprise; Bay will take over the reigns of ‘Robopocalypse’ from Steven Spielberg. Spielberg has been attached to direct ‘Robopocalypse’, based on the book by Daniel H. Wilson, for many years, but has had to keep pushing it back in favor of other projects, like the upcoming ‘Ready Player One’. Remember, Spielberg executive produces the ‘Transformers’ movies, and handpicked Bay who has directed from the start, so they have an established working relationship, in particular on projects about robots.
Spielberg got pretty far into development, with a script by Drew Goddard and Chris Hemsworth, Anne Hathaway, and Ben Whishaw cast in lead roles. That was in 2012, but in early 2013, he announced that the project was delayed indefinitely, as he wanted a film that would be more personal and cheaper to produce. It’s unclear if Bay will stick with Goddard’s script, but since Spielberg had already expressed a desire for a more stripped down script, Bay may continue down that path.
Bay has directed five ‘Transformers’ movies but has announced that he is done with the franchise and following the weak box office performance of ‘Transformers: The Last Knight’, Paramount is rumored to be rebooting. Meanwhile, Spielberg ‘Bridge of Spies’, ‘The BFG’ and ‘The Post’. And as stated, he has his first big budget blockbuster, ‘Ready Player One’ coming out this summer.
The novel, first published in 2011, depicts a robot uprising as an artificial intelligence called Archos R-14 begins taking over not just robots, but all mechanical devices and uses them to eradicate humankind and merge A.I. with other biological matter. A sequel, ‘Robogenesis’ was published in 2014.
The film, when it eventually happens, will be co-produced by 20th Century Fox and Dreamworks.
Are you a fan of the novel? How does this change make you feel?
Source: Variety
