After the success of Marvel’s Avengers universe, which gets a bit bigger next month with The Avengers: Age of Ultron, every studio is keen to have their own equivalent and Paramount has decided the Transformers franchise is ripe for an expansion.
Screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, known for A Beautiful Mind, I Am Legend and, most recently, Insurgent, has been hired by Michael Bay and Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura to help develop ideas for spin-offs and sequels, according to Deadline. Rather than pen the forthcoming films, he will reportedly be in charge of a team of writers.
The news follows the success of the fourth film in the franchise, Transformers: Age of Extinction, which made over $1bn at the global box office, despite an 18% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
While Marvel’s Avengers universe has been a success, other studios have yet to implement their attempts at repeating the formula. Universal are planning a monsters variation, starting with next year’s reboot of The Mummy, Sony are rumoured to be creating one for Ghostbusters, kick off with Paul Feig’s all-female take and Warner Bros have set dates for their DC entries, with next year’s Batman V Superman coming up first.
The most recent Transformers film was itself a reboot of sorts with new characters, headed up by Mark Wahlberg, and a sequel is set for next summer. Michael Bay won’t be returning to direct and will instead be focusing on Benghazi drama 13 Hours, starring John Krasinski.
