Michael Bay to direct TF4 - Peter Cullen returns as Optimus

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Originally Posted by griffin

Problem is, Hasbro's most marketable Decepticon/Evil(tm) character (to the general public, which is where most of their profit comes from) is Megatron. As frustrating as it may be, don't be surprised if he is resurrected, again. No other Decepticon is as well known by non-fans than Megatron. We may think Galvatron, Unicron, Starscream, Soundwave or Shockwave would be worthy leaders or main villains, but the first two are unknown to the general public, while the last three are just as dead as Megatron... so resurrecting one but not allowing for another, wouldn't make much sense.
I'm not defending it... just pointing out the reality of a multi-billion dollar, multi-national franchise that will always put first, the chance to make profit over what makes sense in a story (or the dedicated fans). It's just the way capitalism works, and we just have to make the most of any easter eggs they throw our way in the process.

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And it is for this very reason we will also be bombarded with new waves of Bumblebee toys ;)

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Originally Posted by 5FDP

And it is for this very reason we will also be bombarded with new waves of Bumblebee toys ;)

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What?!?!? We will be getting more Bumblebees?!?!!? Awesome!!!!!!!:p

Do you think they could afford a voice actor for Bumblebee this time? :rolleyes: It's like he's just a big robot puppy with guns and not a real character anymore.

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Originally Posted by Bartrim

What?!?!? We will be getting more Bumblebees?!?!!? Awesome!!!!!!!:p

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They're all for you Damien ummm... I mean, Bartrim :D

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Originally Posted by griffin

Problem is, Hasbro's most marketable Decepticon/Evil(tm) character (to the general public, which is where most of their profit comes from) is Megatron. As frustrating as it may be, don't be surprised if he is resurrected, again. No other Decepticon is as well known by non-fans than Megatron. We may think Galvatron, Unicron, Starscream, Soundwave or Shockwave would be worthy leaders or main villains, but the first two are unknown to the general public, while the last three are just as dead as Megatron... so resurrecting one but not allowing for another, wouldn't make much sense.
I'm not defending it... just pointing out the reality of a multi-billion dollar, multi-national franchise that will always put first, the chance to make profit over what makes sense in a story (or the dedicated fans). It's just the way capitalism works, and we just have to make the most of any easter eggs they throw our way in the process.

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I think a good director/story teller could put in another Decepticon leader and pull it off. Michael Bay was willing to use really obscure characters as the main villains in ROTF and DOTM -- as others have mentioned, Megatron was like a 'sidekick' to The Fallen and Sentinel Prime in those films, and they were both fairly obscure characters before the films came along (although Sentinel Prime had became more prominent after Transformers Animated).

So long as you make the character really awesome, audiences will be drawn. Look at the Dark Knight Rises -- Bane isn't the most well known of Batman villains, no where near as well known to the general public as say the Joker, the Riddler, Penguin or even Dr. Freeze etc., but Nolan put him in his 3rd Batman film - and the movie was freaking awesome! Even Batman Begins used lesser known villains - i.e. Scarecrow and Ra's Al Ghul (whose story intertwines in DK Rises).

If they're going to use Megatron, then I'd like to see a reboot. If they're going to maintain continuity with the previous 3 films, then I'd rather not see Megatron appear; because then it just makes deaths in the story completely frivolous. And not even writers of the G1 cartoon wanted to do that... sure, they brought Optimus Prime back, but that was because Hasbro received a lot of flak from the public after having traumatised kids by killing Prime off in TFTM... and even then they held it out until the very end of Season 3 to bring Prime back properly. Once a character's death loses meaning, it's hard to emotionally connect to that character at all. TF1, Megatron had his Spark destroyed -- then he came back. In DOTM he had his head and spine ripped out and crushed... if the survives that then what's the impetus to care about this villain? They blow him up? Meh, he'll probably survive that too. He becomes more like some kind of Freddy Kruger monster rather than a character to care about, even as a villain (like Bane, Darth Vader or even Rampage in Beast Wars). At best he becomes like a comic relief character like Waspinator or Kenny from South Park.

"Oh my God, they killed Megatron!"
"You sons-of-unwed-parents!"

Those characters that die in dark of the moon, die really violently, their deaths feel so permanent, for me it would seem strange seeing them in a sequel. If they were just shot down, or had the crap beat out of them, and they just fell into a heap of parts, I'd be ok with seeing the well known characters return from the dead. But seriously these guys were executed with fatalities Mortal Kombat style!
In a sequel I'd like to see lots of new characters, If not I see failure. A new villian would honestly be more exciting.

So if it isn't a reboot is he going to use the surviving characters (like Sideswipe) or vanish mysteriously (like Jolt)?

It's been said that they are picking up where they left off...in Chicago. And it's been confirmed that Peter Cullen is voicing Optimus too

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Originally Posted by Megatron-SG1

I really like when he is not characterized as a one dimensional, predictable, invulnerable character - that's boring and doesn't allow for growth of said character. Why should he be fixed in a stereotype? I want him to return for TF4.

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If it's character development and depth you're after you might want to pass on the Bay movies. I'm just saying...

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Originally Posted by tinyJazz

Do you think they could afford a voice actor for Bumblebee this time? :rolleyes: It's like he's just a big robot puppy with guns and not a real character anymore.

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My vote goes to Robin Williams.

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Originally Posted by Defcon

Those characters that die in dark of the moon, die really violently, their deaths feel so permanent, for me it would seem strange seeing them in a sequel.

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Megatron effectively had his heart/soul ripped out, then his body dumped at the deepest ocean trench so that his remains could be crushed by a bazillion megatonnes of pressure. Yet some Decepticons managed to casually swim down there, stick a Cosmic MacGuffin(TM) in his chest, and hey presto - he just gets up and flies into space, good to go. :eek: Optimus Prime had the same thing happen, then he was resurrected by another MacGuffin(TM) (now in powder form!) in a sock. I cannot think of a way that Megatron can be resurrected in a way that just doesn't seem totally contrived.

Optimus Prime: "Megatron, you're back! But... how?"
Megatron: "A wizard did it."