Transformers 4 Has an Official Release Date

Update - Michael Bay has confirmed that he will be involved with Transformers 4 with the following statement:

"Steven Spielberg and I are working on a whole new reimagining of Transformers, the fourth installment. We have been working on the idea for a few months. I’m excited about where it’s headed."

Original Story - Whether you want it or not, there will be another installment in the Transformers film franchise. Paramount Pictures has announced that the fourth movie for the robots in disguise will hit theaters on June 27, 2014.

Many were left wondering if Transformers 4 would even happen after director Michael Bay expressed his desire to walk away from the series after the initial trilogy. However, Blastr reports that Bay could return after directing the much smaller movie Pain and Gain. Shooting for the Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Mark Wahlberg thriller will begin in April.

Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura told ComingSoon.net that Transformers 4 will "be there in the summer of 2014."

Bonaventura vaguely confirmed that Bay would return in the director's seat.

"Michael had a debate because he sort of felt at first that he'd done three," the producer explained. "Michael and I are both the same in that we always like to top ourselves. That doesn't necessarily mean bigger. It can be bigger in places, it just means different, but we're going to push really hard as fresh and new as we can be."

Whether or not Michael Bay gets behind the camera again, one thing is for sure. Series star Shia LaBeouf is done with his Transformers stint as hero Sam Witwicky. There were rumors that action film veteran Jason Statham would star in the next installment but nothing has been confirmed.

After Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon brought in $1.1 billion for Paramount, making it the fourth highest grossing film ever, it's no surprise the studio doesn't want to let the franchise go, with or without Bay. Hopefully Transformers 4 will still keep Peter Cullen as the iconic voice of Autobot leader Optimus Prime. A plot that actually makes sense and robots without stereotypical ethnic accents would also help.

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