Steven Spielberg Takes Creative Charge of the Next ‘Transformers’ Movie as Michael Bay Eyes a Return

Few franchises have had as many lives as ‘Transformers.’ It launched in 2007 as a major summer event, grew into one of Hollywood’s most reliable global earners, and then spent years trying to find the right formula after a run of sequels and spin-offs that never quite matched the early numbers.

The latest reset arrives as Paramount settles into a new era under Skydance. The studio has made restoring its big franchises a priority, and CEO David Ellison has said getting the robots in disguise back on track is a top objective.

That effort just took a major step forward. According to an exclusive report from Deadline, Paramount has appointed Steven Spielberg to focus on all creative aspects of the next live-action ‘Transformers’ film, working alongside longtime producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, while Michael Bay is in early talks to return as director.

Spielberg has remained an executive producer on the franchise throughout its history and will keep that title, but he will now lead the creative direction of what will be the eighth live-action installment. He held a similar role on the first 2 films, 2007’s ‘Transformers’ and 2009’s ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,’ before taking a less hands-on position on the later sequels. The franchise has generated more than $5.4 billion in global box office revenue.

Deadline reports that Spielberg and di Bonaventura want the new film to “honor the spirit of the early Transformers films.” That is a notable promise, given that Spielberg himself picked Bay to direct the first movie nearly 20 years ago.

The courtship was a long one. Paramount co-chairs Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg made the franchise a priority after Skydance’s merger with Paramount in August 2025, and one of their first meetings was with Spielberg at the studio. Over the next year, they worked to persuade him to take a more active role, and he finally agreed after reading the latest script from Jason Fuchs, a co-creator of HBO’s ‘It: Welcome to Derry’ who was hired in June.

Bay was reportedly Paramount’s first stop for a director. After reading the script and meeting with Spielberg earlier this week, he is said to want back in, though his deal is still in early talks. When Fuchs’ hiring was first reported, Bay was attached only as a producer, and he had just signed on to direct an Iran rescue movie for Universal.

Details are scarce. The film is currently untitled and unannounced, and plot specifics are under wraps. It is said to continue the story of 2023’s ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,’ which ended with Anthony Ramos’ character, Noah Diaz, getting a G.I. Joe connection. Mark Vahradian, Don Murphy, Tom DeSanto and Hasbro will also produce.

If his deal is finalized, it would be Bay’s sixth ‘Transformers’ film as director. He helmed the first 5 installments, from 2007’s ‘Transformers’ through 2017’s ‘Transformers: The Last Knight,’ and sat out both ‘Bumblebee’ and ‘Rise of the Beasts.’

The box office history helps explain the reset. ‘The Last Knight’ grossed $605M worldwide, while the later reboot-era titles, ‘Bumblebee’ at $467M and ‘Rise of the Beasts’ at $441M, were seen as improvements in quality but delivered lower returns. Paramount and Hasbro clearly want a return to the blockbuster scale of the original run.

The timing is also telling. The announcement comes just as the merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery has closed, forming Skydance, and it serves as an early signal of how the new company plans to lean on established franchises and familiar talent. Whether audiences will respond to a Spielberg and Bay reunion after all these years remains to be seen, but the nostalgia factor is undeniably strong.

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