Transformers 3 Dark of the Moon Director Michael Bay says that Transformers 4 will "absolutely" be his last, but also took the time to reveal additional information about the cast, budget, and possible plot ideas in an interview with the Los Angeles Times' Hero Complex.

Speaking right before the opening of Transformers The Ride about a month ago, Mr. Bay is quoted as saying that "[i]t's a new cast" for Transformers 4, but that does not mean it should be called a reboot.

CONTINUATION OF STORY
"It's not a reboot, that's maybe the wrong word," Mr Bay told Hero Complex.

He continues that he does not want people thinking it is an Amazing Spider-Man or a Batman Begins, where it takes a story all the way back to the beginning.

"We're not," he says.


The three stories told in Transformers, Transformers 2 Revenge of the Fallen, and Transformers 3 Dark of the Moon still apply and they are leaving these "three as the history. It all still counts."

He also hinted that the film may move into the future.

They are "taking it in a new direction," Mr. Bay says, and he and screenwriter Ehren Kruger, who co-wrote Revenge of the Fallen with Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman and then took over sole writing duties for Dark of the Moon, have already met.


Based on the timing of this interview, Mr. Bay and Mr. Kruger have already met at least one more time.

TRANSFORMERS IN SPACE?
During the interview Hero Complex suggested that the film could leave Earth, and Mr. Bay replied, "I think so, yeah, a little."

"That feels like the way to go, doesn’t it?"

He continues that does not have to go too far off, though because "I still want to keep it grounded.That’s what works in these movies, that’s what makes it accessible."

BUDGET CUT BY $30 MILLION
Despite the success of the third film, which stands as the fifth top-grossing film worldwide of all-time according to Box Office Mojo, will be cut by $30 million.

Doing a full Cybertron is costly, Mr. Bay explains, and the budget cut is another reason that the film will not go fully into space.

WHY DOES HE KEEP COMING BACK?
The LA Times Blog posed this question to Mr. Bay, who proclaimed that the giant robot franchise has grown on him.

But he has another reason for it: If he does not return, a lot of people who depend on blockbuster films like this economically (e.g., towns, production crew) would be negatively impacted, and walking away would be irresponsible.

Despite these reasons, Mr. Bay says that Transformers 4 will "absolutely" be his last.


Once he is four and done, what does Mr. Bay hope for the franchise?

Mr. Bay offers a very compounded answer, but he has high hopes. He hopes to put the franchise "in the best hands possible" while creating "a new type of action" as well as "new stuff that needs to be in this movie."

That sounds like a lot, but he says "[t]hat's the plan."

PROVISIONAL POSTER
On a non-Hero Complex interview note, a Transformers 4 provisional poster has surfaced in Argentinian website Cine1.

The tagline reads, "evil will burn," with Optimus Prime shadowed by the flames off to the side.

Cine1 provides a disclaimer that these are made just as placeholders for now and based on the translation, says it is "fan art."

The idea is very similar in design to the Transformers 3 poster we saw before the last film, spotted at a convention and on Mr. Bay's binder while on-set.

Whether or not Mr. Bay liked it and put it in his binder is unknown.

Transformers 4 is set for a Summer 2014 release.

Stay tuned to Tformers.com for more details as they are made available. Your best resource for all the Transformers news and community every day.