Even as Paramount prepares for the release of ‘Transformers: The Last Knight’, the fifth film in the blockbuster franchise, the studio has one eye turned toward the future. The future envisioned is one in which the ‘Transformers’ films have branched into a wider cinematic universe, similar to what Marvel has crafted over the last several years. The first steps in that direction have already taken place, with the studio having assembled a team of writers and commenced development on a spinoff centered on Bumblebee.
Speaking with Collider, director and franchise producer Michael Bay offered some intriguing insight into the development of ‘Bumblebee‘. In addition to suggesting that he would like to increase his involvement with the spinoff (while no director is currently attached to ‘Bumblebee’, the prevailing assumption has been that Bay would serve as producer while remaining in the director’s chair for the core series), he offered a comment that demonstrates just how far outside of the box the writing team is thinking as they expand the world of ‘Transformers’:
“You know, yeah, that would be fun. There’s actually one idea that would be really fun R rated, with Bumblebee. I don’t wanna say, but it would be really fun. Very Quentin, you know.”
While an R-rated ‘Transformers’ movie (spinoff or otherwise) is almost certainly not going to see the light of day, the fact that the idea is even being considered raises some interesting questions, chief among them perhaps being just what that movie would look like. The nature of ‘Transformers’ media generally suggests it would essentially be a more violent version of what we’ve seen before, particularly given Bay’s allusion to Quentin Tarantino as an influence.
What do you think of the notion of an R-rated ‘Transformers’ movie? Let us know in the comments!
‘Bumblebee’ is currently targeted for release in 2018, though the project is still in the early stages and this is subject to change. In the meantime, the next installment of the ‘Transformers’ franchise, ‘Transformers: The Last Night’, is due for release on June 23, 2017 and stars Mark Wahlberg, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Liam Garrigan, Laura Haddock, Stanley Tucci, Gil Birmingham, Isabel Moner, and Anthony Hopkins.
