After a long and arduous search, Paramount Pictures and Hasbro Studios have reportedly found the filmmaker that they want to helm the New Transformers movie and have entered negotiations with Creed 2 director Steven Caple Jr. Back in January, the studios commissioned for two separate scripts for a live action Transformers outing to be developed by screenwriters James Vanderbilt and Joby Harold and have now decided to move forward with Harold’s script with Caple Jr. the top choice to direct.
After meeting with several top execs including Paramount Motion Picture President Emma Watts, the studio feel that Steven Caple Jr. is the best fit for the franchise’s future, with the upcoming Transformers movie said to be a revamp of the franchise and a complete departure from the Michael Bay helmed series of movies that came before.
Caple Jr. is best known for directing the 2018 sports drama sequel and Rocky spin-off, Creed 2, starring Michael B Jordan and Sylvester Stallone. While not quite as well-received as its predecessor, Creed, Caple Jr’s follow-up still provided a solid punch and was highly praised by both audiences and critics alike. The director’s previous credits also include the likes of the short films The Land of Misfits and A Different Tree, hard-hitting drama The Land, and a handful of episodes of the ABC comedy Grown-ish. Caple Jr. is a very interesting choice to take over the Transformers franchise. His filmmaking sensibilities are clearly far and away from Michael Bay’s and should certainly provide the fresh, new direction that the studios are hoping for.
This is not the only Transformers movie on the horizon though, with Paramount and Hasbro Studios still planning to collaborate on a stand-alone animated Transformers prequel movie with Toy Story 4 director Josh Cooley. The project will explore the interstellar origins of the Autobots and the Decepticons on their home planet Cybertron, and will specifically revolve around the relationship between rival leaders Optimus Prime and Megatron. It is also worth noting that the reports also state that the movie will be “separate and apart” from the live-action movies that have graced the big screen thus far.
This animated visit to Cybertron has been on the cards for some time, with Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari working on the project since all the way back in 2015, several months after Akiva Goldsman formed a writer’s room to pitch ideas on expanding the Transformers universe. Now, half a decade later, the project is finally moving in the right direction.
The Transformers franchise has been a huge box office draw for Paramount for some time. Launched back in 2007, the series of movies have varied in quality but have still managed to rake in more than $4 billion at the box office across five movies. Following the release of 2017’s critically mauled Transformers: The Last Knight, director Michael Bay parted ways with the franchise in order to work on more original material, hence the studios plan to reboot.
Still, Paramount and Hasbro seem to be bringing in the right amount of talent for both the live action and animated endeavours, making it a good time to be a Transformers fan. This comes to us from Deadline.
