Over the past months, Paramount Pictures has been reportedly expanding its onscreen "Transformers' franchise as the studio puts together a team of writers to develop more sequels and spinoffs.
Following in the footsteps of Michael Bay and his approach to creating the cinematic universe for his past four "Transformers' films, Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner dropped hints about the Autobot Bumblebee possibly becoming the focus of a spinoff feature.
"Many of you know Bumblebee; the yellow Camaro"¦ formally known as a yellow VW Bug," Goldner said at this year's Global Consumer Conference. "He is a beloved character by kids all over the world. We could see stories told around Bumblebee and other characters."
The Hasbro executive also explained the company's plans of creating brand equity around the comic book business as well as in the television and digital gaming business to further support the new "Transformers' movie business.
This time, Bay is on board to produce the future movies in the franchise together with Steven Spielberg and Lorenzo di Bonaventura, both of whom have already collaborated for "Transformers' the franchise since its first film in 2007.
"The Walking Dead' creator Robert Kirkman has also joined the writing team for upcoming "Transformers' films along with "Iron Man' screenwriters Art Marcum and Matt Holloway of "Iron Man.'
In addition, Zak Penn of "Pacific Rim 2' and Jeff Pinkner of "The Amazing Spider-Man 2' have also secured a part in the writing team.
These new writers are expected to create impressive creative content alongside Akiva Goldsman ("I Am Legend'), who will oversee the development of future film projects based on the Transformers line.
""¦We think there's any number of stories to be told. It's a brand that's been around for 30 years with amazing canon and mythology," Goldner shared. "We would expect the sequel to the "Transformers' movie to happen in 2017."
"Transformers' actor Mark Wahlberg, who took on the leading role in the "Age of Extinction' movie with Nicola Peltz and Stanley Tucci, is still expected to make a comeback in the franchise's future movies.
"Yeah, I committed to doing a couple more. I can't speak for Mr. Bay, but something tells me we'll be on set soon," Wahlberg said.
Released in 2014 as the fourth installment, "Transfomers: Age of Extinction" has already raked in $1 billion at the global box office while all four "Transformers' films combined have grossed a whopping $3.7 billion worldwide.
