Michael Bay Will Be Back for 'Transformers 4'

Even though he repeatedly said he was done with the “Transformers” franchise after “The Dark of the Moon,” Michael Bay is currently in talks with Paramount to be back at the helm of a fourth film, it has emerged.

Then again, this probably shouldn't surprise fans that much, since we're talking about the same director who said he'd never make a 3D film because 3D was just a trend that would die down – and then came out with “Transformers: The Dark of the Moon” in 3D.

NY Mag's Vulture has it from reliable but unnamed sources that, as we speak, Bay is in talks with Paramount to be back at the helm of “Transformers.”

It's the movie studio that's pushing him to do another movie in the franchise, the report says. However, Bay is using the negotiations as his chance to do a project he's been working on for a long time and of which we also informed you yesterday.

“Michael Bay is in final negotiations to direct a new Transformers film, insiders tell Vulture. In recent days, Bay has been assembling a cast for a long-gestating project that even predates Bay’s entry into planet-destroying, Pain and Gain, based on a three-part New Times story about the infamous 'Sun Gym gang' a group of dimwitted Miami bodybuilders who kidnapped, tortured and robbed a Florida businessman but got their comeuppance when their left-for-dead victim hires a private eye to hunt them down,” Vulture writes.

In other words, Bay told Paramount he was game for “Transformers” but only if they let him do “Pain and Gain” first.

“Without Pain, there’s no tit for tat. That’s Paramount’s leverage,” an insider is quoted as saying.

Another spy familiar with negotiations tells Vulture that no deal has been finalized yet, but that they should both go down and be announced this week.

“Meanwhile, the details of the next cyborg saga are being kept secret, but we’re told that it is definitely not a prequel, and that it will delve deeper into Transformers canon to mine older characters and lore,” the publication further says.

Apparently, fans loved the Sentinel Prime story arc included in the last “Transformers,” even if it didn't make that much sense to non-fans.

For more on this, make sure you keep an eye on this space for details.