After a few months of flirting, Michael Bay has made a commitment to direct 'Transformers 4.' Bay's producer Lorenzo DiBonaventura let slip during an interview with MTV that not only would Bay be directing the next entry in shape-shifting robot franchise, but that the film would be released in the summer of 2014. Paramount issued a press release shortly thereafter confirming pretty much everything DiBonaventura had said, further cementing the release date as June 29, 2014. The press release also confirms that before 'Trans4mers,' Bay will be directing 'Pain and Gain,' a dark comedy centering on a group of bodybuilders who get entangled in a plot involving kidnapping, extortion, and even murder. 'Pain and Gain' will star Mark Wahlberg and The Rock and is set to begin filming this Spring. This was the quid pro quo project we had eluded to a couple months ago, the one the studio was using to get Bay back to do the next 'Transformers.' 

So there you have it, there's no way around it, we're getting another Bay 'Transformers.' What isn't confirmed by the press release that DiBonaventura mentioned in the MTV interview, is that the latest entry in the franchise will be a reboot. What does that mean, exactly? Are they really starting over with the Autobots initial arrival on Earth? Are we going back to experience the war with the Decepticons on their home planet? What I find funny is that the interviewer asks DiBonaventura if any casting had been considered and the producer laughs it off stating, "we have to have story first, you can't pick characters without a story." Funny, because it seems like having a solid story in place was never a concern for any of your other sequels. Frankly, at this point, if we can't possibly avoid another 'Transformers' film, why not let Bay direct it? I'm not sure what new life could be breathed into this franchise under anyone else. I am somewhat interested in seeing what Bay does with a smaller gig like 'Pain and Gain.'

What do you guys think of Bay being officially back in the director's chair? How could a reboot work for 'Trans4mers?'

Source: MTV; Paramount (via Film School Rejects)