Okay, so this is my initial reaction upon hearing the rumor that may be more official than anything so far...It appears this is going to happen as soon as they can get Michael Bay to say 'yes' and he seems to have admitted that he's not saying 'no,' though he hasn't said 'yes' yet either.
Whatever...
Here is my initial opinion of this, whether it happens or not:
I love love LOVE Transformers. It's a fantastic concept full of amazing storylines, some not so amazing, but for the most part amazing. It has jumpstarted my imagination like nothing else has been able to.
For instance, I was intrigued by Star Wars. Who isn't? But, I mean, I was obsessed with Star Wars, truly obsessed. I have a Star Wars room in my house that is nothing but Star Wars. I have collected it; I have read just about every book and comic that has to do with it, saw every movie, gone to conventions dressed as a Jedi, made lightsabers...you get the idea. I was OBSESSED.
Then, somewhere along the way, something happened to it...The prequels were lacking. Things started getting introduced that didn't make sense. I started losing faith in it.
Then the live-action Transformers came along. Oh. My. Gawd...
I grew up with Transformers. I watched all the cartoons. It was cool. I wasn't into it as much as I was into Star Wars, but it was very cool. The toys are the all-time best toys that have ever been produced with any cartoon or movie. I always liked them and I wanted an Optimus Prime toy so bad. I kept asking for one for Christmas, but my nephew got him instead...something about me being a girl and that I can't have boy toys. So, I got to watch my brothers and nephews get the cool Star Wars and Transformers toys, but didn't get to have any for myself. For anyone who has seen my toy collections, you know I've made up for that lack.
At any rate, the Transformers were not as real to me as Star Wars was until the live-action movie came out in 2007. It blew my mind, it really did. There are two cinema experiences I've had in my life that have made an impact on me more than anything...Tron in 1982 and Transformers in 2007. Even Star Wars didn't top those experiences. Then something else happened... I was inspired to write fiction.
I'm a writer and have written and published many things pertaining to my work and travels, but I never thought I could realize a dream to publish fiction until I started writing Transformers fanfiction. It sounds silly, but it wasn't until I started writing "Night Fire" that I realized that I could actually do it. I can be an author...I am already a writer. Holy cow!
I am now currently working on a story for publication and guess what started that? Transformers! Never in a million years would this have happened if it weren't for Transformers. That first movie in 2007 started it all for me and I am so excited I can't stand it!
I wasn't sure what to think about the second movie, but once I stopped looking at it as a writer, I find I enjoy it more now. It's mindless entertainment and it's good for that. Plus, I just love to watch the CGI Transformers move and it's fascinating how real they've made them seem.
The third movie came as more of a shock. There is so much about it that I like, but I find I can't actually watch it. They made us want to see Mikaela and Sam succeed as a couple, yet because of something the actress said, they got rid of her and put another character in her place (which was barely even rewritten to explain and they simply kept the same stuff that was supposed to be for the Mikaela character and just changed the girlfriend's name). I was very surprised by how much that affected me. I didn't think I'd care, but all the 'together forever' stuff didn't actually make sense unless it was Mikaela since they showed everything she had gone through for Sam in the first and second movies. I was surprisingly disappointed in not having that wonderful closure with the Mikaela character.
Then there is the character of Ironhide, who has been my focus in my fanfiction and has inspired my own main character in my original work. I spend too much time thinking he didn't really need to die that I can't enjoy the movie. I think this is the reaction that my fanfiction readers expected I'd have, but I didn't put much stock to his death until much much later. Truly, I knew he was going to die. He dies in everything; it was inevitable. But, I guess I got too emotionally attached. I can admit that now. It's kinda weird to be so attached to a fictional character and affected so much by what happens to him.
Having said that, I can't possibly be as upset as Decepticon fans because, well, they killed ALL of those characters in the third movie. It simply seems so final and done that I feel it should be. It should be done. Over. No more.
Having said that, I'm not saying I don't want to see any more Transformers movies coming out. I adore Transformers Prime cartoon and I'd support anything new coming out with Transformers. That is what I feel they should do with the movies...Something new. A reboot. The Bay movies were what they were. The first one inspired me and allowed me to realize my dream as an author. I will not forget that. However, that story is over. It's time for a new one. They reboot the cartoons all the time, so why not the movies?
What I'm saying here is that even though I was as obsessed with Star Wars as I was, I wasn't inspired to realize my dream. The live-action Transformers movies did that for me very unexpectedly. But, like Star Wars went downhill and lost a hoard of fans, Transformers is in danger of doing the same thing. Star Wars is an icon and will probably never die no matter what they do. Transformers is an icon too, but the fanbase seems a little more fragile. It would be sad for them to kill the Transformers fanbase and I'm afraid that's what they might end up doing.
There is a lot of disappointment with the second and third Transformers movies...a fourth one could be the nail in the coffin. At this point, I feel a remake is needed.
Just to make this clear, it's not Michael Bay that I take issue with. He has proven he can do this well. He was the director for the first movie after all, which is undoubtedly one of my favorite movies of all time. The writer strike threw off the second movie, and you can even tell in the movie that there are several writers who didn't necessarily share their thoughts of where it was going. The third movie was written well, but they made so much about the storyline so final that it was over. It was supposed to be over, you could tell that. It should be over. So, if they want to do a remake and have Michael Bay direct it, then that'd be fine by me as long as it's a whole new storyline.
So, that's my initial reaction and my initial thoughts on hearing a rumor that might actually be real this time. I haven't paid any attention to all the other rumors up until now. However, Paramount knows when they have a cash cow, so it's most likely inevitable that another Transformers come out. I just hope they realize it can be redone and still have just as much of a following, if not more.
Do it right, take the time to make it good in every way, and it will forever be a part of our very culture.
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