The First Skydance Movie? An 8th ‘Transformers’ Film Executive Produced by Steven Spielberg

Michael Bay is in early talks to return to direct, and Shia LaBeouf is not returning.

One thing we didn’t get to mention in our story about Skydance film chiefs Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein is that at least one source mentioned to us that, given the Optimus Prime-sized task of releasing 30 movies annually, the industry and general public is going to — unfairly or not — judge them by the first few films they greenlight.

So with the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger now complete, it stands to reason that Goldberg and Greenstein want to make an immediate splash. And though your mileage may vary on it, it makes sense that one of the first things they’d do is revitalize one of Paramount’s most lucrative franchises from this century: “Transformers.”

Paramount Pictures is working on an eighth “Transformers” film, and most notably, Steven Spielberg, who was an executive producer on the original “Transformers” films, is now on board as an EP to lead the creative direction alongside producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura. While di Bonaventura was already working on developing the script, Spielberg later read it and signed on.

Jason Fuchs (“Argylle,” “It: Welcome to Derry”) is writing a script for the film that aims to return to the spirit of the original movies. The new film is set in the modern day, but specific plot details are under wraps.

Michael Bay, who launched this Hasbro toy brand into a $5.4 billion global box office smash, is for now just in early talks to direct, IndieWire understands. What is clear is that the franchise’s original star Shia LaBeouf will not return, and other conversations about cast are premature.

Spielberg, though, is the big fish — and though he isn’t directing, Goldberg and Greenstein made meeting with Spielberg one of their first priorities back in August. Di Bonaventura, Mark Vahradian, Don Murphy, Tom DeSanto, and Hasbro will also produce the new “Transformers” film.

There’s no doubt that “Transformers” is about as big as it gets for modern Paramount franchises, even if several of the movies were some of the furthest things from critical darlings. The trouble is that after Bay directed five “Transformers” movie, the franchise has been spinning its wheels a bit. Paramount did the “Bumblebee” spinoff movie directed by Travis Knight, there was “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” directed by Steven Caple Jr. that was a bit of a mashup between some other Hasbro-Transformers characters, and then there was the animated “Transformers One” from 2024. All of those were well below the billion dollar+ high set by 2014’s “Transformers: Age of Extinction,” and the animated “Transformers One” really struggled with just $129.4 million worldwide. So yeah, it makes sense to bring the old band back together.

There was also talk a long time ago that there could be a “Transformers” and “G.I. Joe” crossover project, yet another way to mashup some toy brands, but IndieWire has learned that project isn’t moving forward either. It was recenty reported that Skydance was developing a new “G.I. Joe” movie with Danny McBride and Bradley Cooper set to star.

But hey, now that Paramount is merged with Warner Bros., we can dream on that Transformers x Barbie crossover instead.