Transformers: Age of Extinction Finds A Film Composer With Steve Jablonsky
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With only five months until it’s released, Transformers: Age of Extinction is said to be a complete re-imagining and re-design of what we know from the first Transformers film trilogy. That’s a claim that seems odd given that the new-and-improved film will feature some of the old filmmakers behind the scenes, especially director Michael Bay. If Paramount and Hasbro wanted a new series, they should have gotten some new blood behind the camera as well as in front of it. Bay is currently in the middle of post-production for Transformers 4, and the 48-year-old action auteur is bringing back another collaborator from the earlier Transformers films.
In an interview with JoBlo.com, film composer Steve Jablonsky reveals that he will score Transformers: Age of Extinction. Jablonsky says:
“I haven’t quite met with Michael on Transformers 4 yet, but I have heard probably he wants to do something new which I am totally up for. I think it’s a….I don’t know if you call it a reboot, but it’s all different actors and I haven’t seen it yet. We will see if, if you even hear that theme in the new ones or not. I am not sure yet.
Steve Jablonsky worked on all three previous Transformers films, so it’s no surprise that the 43-year-old film composer would team up again with Bay for the fourth entry in the series. However, his work isn’t the most dynamic of modern composers. He’s very competent, but not all-in-all striking. Jablonsky comes from the school of film composing that is more interested in tone than building memorable and iconic themes (see John Williams, Michael Giacchino, and Howard Shore).
Steve Jablonsky also worked on other Michael Bay movies such as Pain & Gain and The Island. He mostly composes scores for science fiction and horror films such as Ender’s Game, Battleship, and D-War. Jablonsky also handled the Platinum Dunes remakes of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th, and A Nightmare on Elm Street.
Elsewhere in Transformers news, toy packaging recently hinted at the look of the Dinobots from Age of Extinction. While Paramount has yet to release official images or footage from the film, we’ll get our first official look at Transformers 4 during Super Bowl XLVII on February 2 on Fox.
Age of Extinction takes place in Chicago, four years after the events of Dark of the Moon. The movie centers on an inventor named Cade, his teenage daughter Tessa, and her boyfriend Shane, as they “discover a buried Transformer which sets the stage for the return of the rest of the Transformers.” The film stars Mark Wahlberg, Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor, Stanley Tucci, Sophia Myles, T.J. Miller, Victoria Summer, Li Bingbing, Titus Welliver, Kelsey Grammer, and Peter Cullen.
Transformers: Age of Extinction hits theaters everywhere on June 27, 2014, in 3D and IMAX. You can listen to Steve Jablonsky’s score for Transformers: Dark of the Moon below and think of Optimus Prime saying the words “Allspark” over and over again.
