As Marvel wages a two-front war on movie theaters and TV screens, the Transformers franchise is relying on subtler guerrilla tactics to achieve a similar objective of conquering pop culture as we know it. With the stealth of a Decepticon, Paramount Pictures has quietly launched a new strategy to ensure that Transformers films will continue to dominate the box office for time immemorial.
Paramount is currently recruiting writer Akiva Goldsman—whose work ranges from winning an Oscar for A Beautiful Mind to, uh, Batman & Robin—director Michael Bay, executive producer Steven Spielberg, and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura to organize a writer’s room that will churn out Transformers films until the pop culture war is won or the planet is destroyed, whichever comes first.
According to Deadline, this writer’s room will “incubate ideas for a potential multi-part Transformers sequel and come up with potential spinoff films.” Deadline speculates that, like any good general, Goldsman won’t be joining into the fray of screenwriting, but will merely oversee the process. Meanwhile Overlord Bay will turn his attention elsewhere (like that upcoming Benghazi movie) and return only when the scripts are finalized and magic hour hits.
The Transformers “incubation” project is reportedly a “major priority” for Paramount president Marc Evans. (Speaking of which, Transformers: Major Priority is a great name for a spin-off.) That makes sense, considering the most recent Transformers film, Transformers: Age Of Extinction, earned more than $1 billion at the global box office.
As Star Wars, Avatar, and the infamous Marvel Cinematic Universe continue dazzling the public with endless sequels and spin-offs, Transformers will be right beside them with the films no one asked for, but which they’ll probably go see anyway. And thus, Transformers will slowly take over the world. Roll out.