Paramount has already staked out an ambitious June 24, 2016 release date for Transformers 5, but additional evidence supporting franchise veteran and staple Michael Bay not returning to direct the fourth sequel has surfaced.
Variety is reporting that Bay is currently in early negotiations to helm 13 Hours for Paramount, the same studio behind the Transformers franchise. The fictional film will explore an attack on the Benghazi, Libya U.S. Special Mission Compound and CIA Annex that took place on the 11th anniversary of September 11, with Chuck Hogan’s screenplay based on the book Thirteen Hours: A Firsthand Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi by author Mitchell Zuckoff.
Bay publicly stated back in August that he has no intention of returning to direct Transformers 5 and will instead “pass the baton” to another director while he focuses on other projects. 13 Hours is poised to be his first project in Bay’s post-Transformers era.
With less than two years until the Transformers 5 release date and no director in place, it’s appearing more likely with each passing day that Paramount may pull up their anchor and push the film back another year. As of yet no formal release date move has been announced.
Transformers: Age of Extinction, like the final Transformers film Michael Bay directed, has grossed $245.4 million at the domestic box office and a staggering $1.087 billion worldwide since its release on June 27, 2014.
