Michael Bay Says Transformers 4 Will Be Much Shorter Than The Other Movies

By Rudie Obias | Updated

This article is more than 2 years old

Michael Bay DirectingThis weekend will see the release of Pain & Gain, the first non-Transformers movie from director Michael Bay since the release of the science fiction film The Island in 2005. Pain & Gain will be a short side trip for Bay, who will return to the Transformers franchise with the film series’ fourth installment, Transformers 4, in 2014.

According to Michael Bay, Transformers 4 will be a complete re-design from the existing Transformers movies. How different will it be? Well, for one thing, Bay says the new movie will be much shorter than any other previous Transformers movies. That could only be a good thing! Bay says:

‘I designed two hours 7 minutes, which I think is a good formula, which gives enough room to maneuver,’ he says. He also admits why he made the other Transformers movies’ running times so long. ‘Because in Transformers, you tell three stories in one, that of humans, the aliens and the robots. Also, the films were released in the summer and for this reason have become events. You want to make sure to give the public value for (their) money.’

So far, the Transformers movies had been getting longer with each new sequel. The first Transformers film was two hours and 24 minutes long, while the last one, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, clocked in at two hours and 35 minutes in length. So if Michael Bay keeps his word, then two hours and seven minutes of giant robots fighting each other won’t be so bad.

Although Bay had said that Transformers: Dark of the Moon was going to be his last Transformers movie, the 48-year-old director says he only took the directing job for the fourth film in the series because he knew how difficult it would be for an inexperienced director to helm such a large project. He wanted to give the proposed new trilogy solid footing before he exits the franchise altogether. Bay explains:

The franchise was assigned to a new industry. This person would have to redraw the entire franchise, which is not an easy task. Creating robots alone takes several months to complete. Also, I knew an inexperienced director does not succeed in convincing a superstar to accept a role. That’s why I initially convinced Mark (Wahlberg) to play in the film, issue a good start.

So, Transformers 4 will be the last of the movies Michael Bay will direct, unless Paramount lures him back with an even bigger mountain of cash for the next one.

Transformers 4 will feature Mark Wahlberg, Jack Reynor, Nicola Peltz, Brenton Thwaites, and Stanley Tucci. The movie will hit theaters everywhere on June 27, 2014, in 3D and IMAX.