Get your salt at the ready, because it’s time to take this bit of news with a pinch of it.
According to websites Enstarz and Crossmap, Michael Bay is stepping down from the director’s chair of Transformers 5 and will be replaced with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles director Jonathan Liebesman. The sites claim “sources” have told them this is a done deal and are reporting this as fact, but there are no official confirmations.
However, Liebesman is not returning to direct Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 (which instead is being helmed by David Green) so his schedule is free to take on Transformers 5, which is apparently set for release in 2016.
The sites also claim that the plot of the movie will be based in outer space, with Optimus Prime seeking out the Quintessons (described as “the creators” in Transformers: Age of Extinction) and the Autobots will be joined by Ultra Magnus, Red Alert and Override as the “Mechanoids”. There will be some scenes set on Earth (with Mark Wahlberg returning) and the villains of the movie will be Cyclonus, Scourge, and Blitzwig, however the sites stress that the Quintessons will be the true antagonists of the film.
Of course, this could all be wild fan speculation as neither site has a particular track record with “scoops”. As we said, take with a pinch of salt for now.
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL18yMRIfoszH_jfuJoo8HCG1-lGjvfH2F
Originally published February 4, 2015. Updated April 13, 2018.
