Reynor, who auditioned for the part three times, was offered the lead by Bay himself after the ‘Armageddon’ filmmaker was impressed by Reynor’s performance in Irish feature ‘What Richard Did’.

Bay initially tested five actors for the part: Reynor, Luke Grimes, (Brothers & Sisters), Landon Liboiron (Terra Nova), Brenton Thwaites (Blue Lagoon: The Awakening) and Hunter Parrish (Weeds).

A source close to IFTN says Bay is keen for Paramount Pictures, which is financing the film, to agree with his casting decision, and an announcement is expected in the coming days.

Reynor will take over the lead role initially played by Shia LaBeouf, who starred in the original three films, which are based on the Marvel comic series. Reynor is expected to play the love interest of Mark Wahlberg’s character’s daughter.