Michael Bay Wants Mark Wahlberg For Transformers 4
So long Shia, hello Marky Mark?
This article is more than 2 years old
We’re gradually getting more glimpses at what Transformers 4 is going to look like, and how it will veer away from the first three films in the franchise. It’s getting rid of previous series lead Shia LaBeouf and presenting a new take on the material, but it supposedly isn’t an outright reboot. Michael Bay is also returning, despite early rumors that he was done with Transformers, and now word has broken that Bay wants Mark Wahlberg for the lead in the fourth movie.
While nothing’s official yet, Twitch Film reports that Bay and Wahlberg are in early talks for the Funky Bunch-less actor to star in Transformers 4. Wahlberg is one of the leads in Michael Bay’s low-budget body-building movie (that feels weird to type) Pain & Gain, which opens next year, so it’s not surprising that the two would consider teaming up again as Bay looks to fill out the non-robot parts of the next Transformers flick.
So, how does this jibe with last week’s rumor that Transformers 4 was looking to cast a female lead, specifically a “high school senior” with a racecar driver for a boyfriend? From the sound of things, that could still be accurate. Supposedly the character Wahlberg is in talks for will have a teenage daughter, so both stories actually fit together pretty cleanly. Twitch also claims that “the child would then grow to be the focus of subsequent entries in the series.” Theoretically that could mean that Wahlberg (or whoever takes the role) could sign on for just one Transformers movie, then return in a lesser role for any further follow-ups. On the other hand, if Transformers 4 makes a zillion dollars with Wahlberg in the lead, don’t be surprised if Paramount rethinks shifting the focus to the daughter character.
