In a totally unsurprising move, Paramount has removed Transformers 7 from their release schedule after the failure of The Last Knight.
It would appear that the Transformers Cinematic Universe has run out of gas.
It was widely reported on Tuesday that Paramount has removed the seventh Transformers film from their slate of upcoming releases. The movie, which was scheduled to hit theaters on June 28, 2019, was to be the first main entry not directed by Michael Bay. Bay of course helmed the first five films in the series, much to the chagrin of Transformers fans everywhere.
Bumblebee, the first Transformers spinoff and directed by Travis Knight, it still scheduled to arrive in cineplexes everywhere on Dec. 21, but the future of the franchise after that is up in the air.
This all comes on the heels of the box office failure of Transformers: The Last Knight, at least in the United States. The film was the lowest grossing film in the series domestically, earning just $130 million on a budget of over $200 million. Of course, The Last Knight did big business overseas, earning $475 million for a total gross of $605 million, so the movie was far from a total bomb for Paramount.
The cancellation of Transformers 7 would seem to strongly indicate that some kind of reboot for the franchise may be on the way. This would be despite assurances to the contrary from Transformers brand manager Jeremy Konrad last February when rumors of a reboot for the franchise first started to circulate.
Whether Paramount decides to reboot the Transformers from the ground up or try to make another go at a Transformers shared universe of films using what has gone before, something needs to be done. The films have long been critic proof, earning $4.4 billion at the worldwide box office since 2007, but the last few movies, The Last Knight in particular, have taken it on the chin from both critics and even the most hardcore of Transformers fans.
Most of the blame for this can be laid at the feet of Bay, who obviously feels that as long as the movies are really loud, feature a ridiculous nonsensical plot and lots and lots of explosions, fans will pay their hard earned money to watch them.
While that may have been the case with the first few films, the novelty has long worn off and the Transformers movies just aren’t worth paying to see on the big screen anymore.
Can the Transformers film franchise be saved? Definitely. Just tell Bay his services are no longer needed, bring in some real screenwriters and directors, soft reboot the whole thing and fans will return to theaters in droves. With Hasbro now having more direct control over the films, a fresh set of eyes may be just what is needed to put new life in everyone’s favorite Robots in Disguise.
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Regardless of how or when it happens, the Transformers will be back in theaters sooner rather than later. They are way to popular to sit on the sidelines for very long.
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