After directing five movies for the Transformers franchise, Michael Bay is now officially retiring; but there’s a specific reason for that. Since the first Transformers movie made its name at the box office, Bay has been busy working on consecutive films for the franchise. Undoubtedly, directing five films in less than a decade is a daunting task to perform. Now that the next Transformers movie is about to hit the cinemas, Steven Spielberg revealed that Michael Bay wouldn’t be directing it.
It is simultaneously sad but also curious to watch Bay saying goodbye to the franchise after successfully pulling out five consecutive blockbusters. Even though all five of these were among the biggest hits in Hollywood, Bay is now exited the Transformers franchise for good. The third and fourth movies of the franchise made over $1 billion. If that’s not holding him back, there is indeed some solid reason for his leave. Let’s jump in and disclose why we won’t be seeing Bay directing the next Transformers movie.
Why Michael Bay Isn’t Directing More Transformers Movies
The reason behind Michael Bay Transformers movies exit is simple. Creating too many movies for the franchise resulted in him being burned out. Releasing a film every two years was difficult, even for Bay. That is why after the release of Transformers: Dark of the Moon, he contemplated stepping away from the franchise. However, after witnessing the success of his projects, Paramount lured him back with a sizeable paycheck.
However, now, it is certain that Transformers: The Last Knight was the final Transformers movie Michael Bay directed. In one of his interviews, Bay said he just “made too many of them.” He also admitted that Steven Spielberg told him to stop after he completed the Transformers trilogy. Curious fans will have to wait and see how Transformers would run in the race of blockbusters without Michael Bay.
Is Transformers Without Michael Bay For The Best?
After Michael Bay’s emphatic announcement about his exit, the critical and commercial acclaim of the next entry in the Transformers franchise did not measure up to Bay’s films. After all that, it was assumed that Bay’s decision would be an end to the franchise. However, Travis Knight saved the day with his Bumblebee. Besides, this movie took viewers back to the 1980s and brought back classical G1 characters. Now, it is easy for the franchise to continue the story from the 1990s with their upcoming release—Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.
If the Rise of the Beasts is a successful film, it is Steven Caple Jr will direct upcoming Transformers movies. However, if things didn’t go as planned, we can hope that Paramount would bring Bay back to save the franchise. It is important to note that Michael Bay only exited the directing seat, he is still of the Transformers franchise film as a producer, which is why he’s seen on the Rise of the Beasts set. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts releases in theaters on June 9, 2023.