TF4 & 5... details from Hasbro, & speculation

[jena]

HECK YES! I love those stupid movies, I just love seeing the TFs as big lifelike hulks roaming around on screen. Nothing else matters to me. I couldn't care less about Shia, all he does in these movies is scream anyway, but I agree with Arcee, bring back Lennox! Keep the female fans happy, bring back that eye candy.

[5FDP]

no no no NO NO

That's my best impersonation of Shia

[Hursticon]

HECK YES! I love those stupid movies, I just love seeing the TFs as big lifelike hulks roaming around on screen. Nothing else matters to me. I couldn't care less about Shia, all he does in these movies is scream anyway, but I agree with Arcee, bring back Lennox! Keep the female fans happy, bring back that eye candy.

Aww, no love for Simmons?

I agree though, just the fact that we had giant transforming robots on screen was a miracle to me and the fact that they were baring the name Transformers only helped to seal the deal; I honestly hope this has opened the doors for other Giant Robot movies into the future, transforming or not as with the case of Real Steel, and if any of them happen to be also labelled 'Transformers'?, then I'll be just thankful.

[griffin]

I'm just not sure now if there has been an official announcement of a convertible Mirage/Dino from Hasbro. If there hasn't, I wouldn't expect one within 4-6 months of an announcement.

[GoktimusPrime]

Could be Hasbro doing the good ol' tease and making its fans wait for ages for a release of a Dino. Kind of like what they did with the Classics toys and slowly releasing the beloved G1 characters. However I don't see how this sort of marketing would work, the longer it takes to get out the more likely kids will just lose interest in TFs in general and Dino especially.

I agree - totally stoopid move because a lot of the movie hype will have fizzled out by then. Hasbro needs to strike while the iron's hot and releasing it like a year after the movie? Iron's stone cold by then...

They made the same mistake with Devastator - which I reckon is why even toys like Legends Devastator shelf warmed. Had they released that toy around the time the film came out, or shortly after (as TOMY did) then I suspect it would have sold better. It took aaages for them to clear the shelves of Legends Devastators. Combiner Class Devastator would probably still shelfwarm if it had been released around the time of the film because it's so expensive and... crap... but I still think it wouldn't have shelf warmed as bad as it has (is) if it had been released sooner, cos you'd have people impulse buying it as they're riding off the movie hype.

*sigh* They release toys like DotM Mudflap and Skids (even though they appeared so briefly in the movie you wouldn't even notice them) and Jolt (who didn't even appear in the film) and various versions of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee... but no Soundwave, Mirage or Wheeljack yet?

no no no NO NO

That's my best impersonation of Shia

trolololol.

[AJ_Prime]

I might get shot here but I actually really enjoyed the Bayformers movies, even RotF despite the fact that the plot had more holes than an old pair of undies.

The first movie, although corny was a great introduction to bringing the franchise into the 21st century. I liked what Bay did with the bots, with their many moving parts and complex transformations that were translated into their toyline.

The second movie had some great effects and introduced many more characters (although I will say the twins were Bays answer to Jar-Jar Binks) and I'm glad they didn't reappear in the 3rd instalment. Still their HA toy representations were pretty good.

The third movie I personally thought did G1 more justice by including several aspects of those stories such as Megs sitting on Abe Lincoln's chair, the ultimate doom story, etc.

I would like to see a 4th and 5th directed by Spielberg, I think he has a better ability to tell a good story. Bay should be involved with the effects however, as he has the attention to detail that giant robots deserve on the big screen.

With the revival of the franchise that Bay brought, the new Generations line is impressive and the Prime series toyline is looking to be fantastic.

I'm happy to keep pumping more money into Hasbro's pockets as long as they keep this franchise alive. Might have to extend the house to cater for the increase in merchandise however...

[Arcee]

I might get shot here but I actually really enjoyed the Bayformers movies...

If they are gonna shot you, they are gonna have to shot us both in a line.

And remember that no one can deny/change the fact that we died for our faith in Transformers!!

We believe in it as we were told: All are one. Our faith and God are the same as anyone else here. And it doesn't matter if others call us heretics

Because one day, a whole new Transformers church will rise above all, under which all will be united as one.

In Transformers We Trust.

[griffin]

Clearing up one of the rumours, and contradicting Hasbro's own statement.
According to Jason Stratham himself, he's not involved with anything to do with future TFs movies.
And despite the CEO of Hasbro stating that they were already talking to Michael Bay, Bay has stated that no such talking has occurred, and he's working towards a couple non-TFs movies at this time.

[GoktimusPrime]

The first movie, although corny was a great introduction to bringing the franchise into the 21st century. I liked what Bay did with the bots, with their many moving parts and complex transformations that were translated into their toyline.

Yeah, the first movie is my favourite because they kept it relatively simple. It captured the spirit of the G1 cartoon quite well.

The second movie had some great effects

I think on the whole all the movies are visually stunning spectacles. But of course, special effects are nothing more than fancy story telling tool. I prefer movies with less expensive effects but better written stories - like Star Wars: A New Hope (the original version). Produced with a "backyard budget" (by Hollywood standards) it's a pretty good story (it was even formerly studied as an HSC English text (examining the Hero's Journey I believe))! I know most people may prefer Empire or Jedi over Hope, but the sequels were bigger and more expensive productions - I think relative to the amount of money that was spent, A New Hope is a pretty good movie (it gave rise to the entire Star Wars phenomenon after all ).

and introduced many more one-dimensional caricatures

Fix'd. Although the G1 cartoon was guilty of this too (which is why many G1 fans prefer the comics)

The third movie I personally thought did G1 more justice by including several aspects of those stories such as Megs sitting on Abe Lincoln's chair, the ultimate doom story, etc.

All the movies made several references to G1, and the first movie had elements that were similar to G1 too. e.g. Bumblebee befriending the Witwicky boy

With the revival of the franchise that Bay brought, the new Generations line is impressive and the Prime series toyline is looking to be fantastic.

I think saying it was a "revival" is overrated. The franchise was never dead or even in danger of dying when the movie franchise came along. In fact, it was because of the strength of the franchise that prompted Hasbro and Paramount to consider making a live action movie in the first place (cos it'd an awful lot of money to invest into a failing franchise!). The Transformers revival really occured in 1996-97 with the debut of Beast Wars. Since then Transformers has gone from strength to strength.

I would agree that the movie franchise has absolutely given the TF franchise a massive boost (TF toy sales doubled after the first movie came out), but I wouldn't go so far as to say it was a "revival" (in my personal opinion anyway).

I'm happy to keep pumping more money into Hasbro's pockets as long as they keep this franchise alive.

Thankfully the TF franchise has never died. Since 1984 there Transformers has always been in production - we've never had a year without Transformers for the past 27 years and I think that's pretty darn awesome. I've been supporting the franchise since it started and I have no intention to stop. So keep 'em rolling Hasbro!

[AJ_Prime]

Perhaps revival wasn't the best word, but Bay definitely increased the awareness of the franchise to a whole new audience. The space dedicated to transformers related toys on shop shelves has also increased somewhat since the movies were released.

This could only have been a good thing for me at least, because I had only started collecting a few months before the movie so my first figures were generations rodimus, starscream and mirage and my hunger for more needed to be satiated...