The next installment in the Transformers franchise started shooting last week, but any information surrounding the project remains virtually non-existent. Many trades are touting it as a direct sequel to Bumblebee, while there were rumors making the rounds a few months back that it would be another period piece, so it may well end up being set in the 1990s.
Given that we’re not even sure of the timeline, it’s no surprise that plot details are also being kept under wraps, but we do know that Creed II director Steven Caple Jr. is working from one of the two spec scripts that were commissioned by Paramount, with King Arthur: Legend of the Sword and Obi-Wan Kenobi scribe Joby Harold’s initial draft being rewritten by the duo of Darnell Metayer and Josh Peters.
Cameras are already rolling, but so far only two cast members have been confirmed. Anthony Ramos, who broke out in Hamilton and can currently be seen leading musical In the Heights, will take top billing with support from Project Power and Judas and the Black Messiah highlight Dominique Fishback. And in a new interview, Ramos finally broke his silence on Transformers. While he was hardly at liberty to drop any major reveals, he did say that the franchise has “transformed” with this new effort.
“I just started Transformers, so I’ll talk to you hopefully in a few months and I’ll let you know which one ended up being harder. It was Shia LaBeouf, Mark Wahlberg and Hailee Steinfeld and now me. It’s very different. Dominique Fishback, it’s very different. Transformers has transformed! Steven Caple Jr. is a visionary, I cannot wait for people to see this man flex and really show everybody the fullness of his glory. We got some things cooking up for y’all, y’all don’t even know.”
It was no coincidence that the first Transformers movie without Michael Bay at the helm turned out to be the best by far, although it did also earn the least money at the box office, but a fresh batch of creative talent might be exactly what the Autobots and Decepticons need, with the next sci-fi action blockbuster pegged for a swift turnaround in order to hit theaters on June 24th, 2022.