'Transformers 4' Gets a Logo, Sends Franchise in a New Direction

Studios aren’t keen on terminating movie franchises that earn well over a billion dollars with each sequel. So when Michael Bay told reporters that Transformers: Dark of the Moon would be his last film in the series, we took it with a grain of salt. Needless to say, the success of the third Transformers film ($1.12B at the worldwide box office) convinced Bay to return, but the franchise has agreed to go in a different creative direction. Today, we’re starting to find out how.

Reporting from the UBS Best Of Americas 2012 Conference, the Web site TFW2005 covered a Hasbro panel that overflowed with Transformers 4 details. For starters, a temporary placeholder logo was revealed (which we posted below). Then, President and Chief Executive Officer Brian Goldner spoke about the past – and future – of the franchise.

Here’s what we learned:

- Goldner said Hasbro intended to reinvent its Transformers brand after 2000. Plans involved expanding into movies, television, games and licensing.

- He added that in the coming years, merchandising related to Transformers: Prime and Rescue Bots will grow.

- As for Transformers 4, the movie is aiming for a 2014 release date, with Ehren Kruger writing the screenplay. Goldner said that while Transformers 3 did well at the box office, it didn’t move nearly as many toys as Hasbro would have hoped. This, according to Goldner, is why the next Transformers sequel will revolve its story around a new cast of robot characters Goldner, according to the site, said that brands need re-imagining, and Transformers 4 will do its best to reboot the brand.

Movie lovers might not be thrilled that the goal behind a new Transformers is to move more action figures. We’d rather hear that they have a fantastic new story that compelled the producers to keep moving forward. Either way, here’s hoping Bay delivers a streamlined Transformers movie that’s less convoluted than the sequels, and possibly more character-driven than Dark of the Moon.

What do you think? Are you glad that they are making a fourth Transformers movie? And what would you like to see happen in this world?

Follow along on Twitter @Sean_OConnell and @Fandango.

Tags: Michael Bay, Transformers 4

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'Transformers 4' Gets a Logo, Sends Franchise in a New Direction

By: Sean OConnell on September 13, 2012 at 7:21AM Comments (15)

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