Aside for the will-he-won’t-he conundrum of Michael Bay directing, much of the pre-production work on Transformers 5 has focused on the crack team of writers that Paramount has assembled as it looks to steer its box office juggernaut in a different direction henceforth. But now, we have an update on the cast that will be placed in front of the camera for the studio’s sequel.
That’s right, Mark Wahlberg has confirmed that he will reprise his role as Cade Yeager, the Texan inventor and mechanic who, along with his family, became embroiled in the all-encompassing war between the Autobots and Decepticons during the events of last year’s Age of Extinction. News of Wahlberg’s return shouldn’t come as much of a surprise; after all, it was only last year when the actor appeared committed to the as-yet-untitled sequel. But will it pave the way for Michael Bay to return at the helm?
At the time of writing, the jury’s still out on whether Bay will take point for Transformers 5, though we do know that the sequel has recruited Iron Man scribes Art Marcum, Matt Holloway and Ken Nolan to pen the screenplay. Best known for their work on Black Hawk Down, the screenwriting trio were instated on Paramount’s follow-up shortly after it was confirmed that Oscar-winner Akiva Goldsman would lead the writers rooms on both the GI Joe and budding Micronauts franchises.
It’s unclear as of yet where Paramount and its core writing team intend to take Transformers 5, though it’s a safe bet that the upcoming sequel will feature Optimus Prime leading the Autobots against a new threat that has emerged. Walhberg’s return only reaffirms the studio’s plan to maintain the human element of the franchise, though fans have long called for the series to ditch humans and merely focus on the robots in disguise. Perhaps that day will come further down the line?