Michael Bay helmed five Transformers movies, all of which were huge box office hits. Critics didn't love them, and fans were mixed, but the "least" successful of his films made $605 million, with the most successful grossing $1.1 billion.
Still, as the box office returns for Bay's movie declined, it became clear that the time had come to move on from him and do something new with the franchise.
While Bumblebee, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, and Transformers One were hailed as a breath of fresh air, none of them found the same level of commercial success. In recent months, much has been said about Bay returning for a new Transformers movie, but where does that leave the G.I. Joe crossover teased in Rise of the Beasts?
Steven Caple Jr. helmed that movie and was being lined up for a follow-up, bringing the iconic franchises together on screen for the first time. Talking to ScreenRant (via SFFGazette.com), he admitted that the event project is currently on the back burner at Paramount.
"I still do have big plans for what that could be, but we'll have to see," the filmmaker told the site. "We'll have to see what comes about it. I am not part of the next Transformers film, but it's still in development, and there's still time, so you just never know. Yeah."
That doesn't sound overly promising, and it seems the studio is banking on Bay's return as the best way to restore Transformers to its former box office glory.
Something unlikely to help Caple Jr.'s plans is the news that broke last October about Robert Kirkman's Skybound Entertainment teaming with Hasbro Entertainment for an adult animated series based on Kirkman's Image Comics series, Energon Universe.
That features characters from the worlds of Transformers, G.I. Joe, and Void Rivals, and Joe Henderson (Lucifer) has been tapped to write the series and serve as showrunner. It's hard to shake the feeling that this show will scratch the itch for a Transformers/G.I. Joe team-up, leaving Caple Jr.'s movie in limbo.
Last June, Puck reported, "Bay approached the studio last year to come back as a hands-on producer and possibly director, and he's got writer Jordan VanDina working on a script. It's one of five or so Transformers projects in development that David Ellison and Skydance will inherit if/when the Paramount sale closes."
"Josh Cooley, who made last year's animated Transformers One, just closed a deal to pursue a live-action take," the report continued. "There's also a possible G.I. Joe/Transformers crossover in development, and the studio has two separate ideas in early stages."
It seems there's no rush to make a new Transformers movie as Paramount will retain the rights, provided it has something in production by 2029.
Has the moment passed for a G.I. Joe crossover? It's already been three years since Transformers: Rise of the Beasts was released, and excitement for the potential meeting between these characters has since diminished.