The Kidd here...
I think there's a certain level of cautious optimism to Michael Bay returning for at least one more TRANSFORMERS flick, and by starting anew with an entirely new cast of characters, there's hope that maybe he'll finally get serious (as seen in the massive action sequences towards the end of DARK OF THE MOON) and deliver a movie for the franchise that doesn't insult our intelligence as we watch it. Perhaps he can make something that doesn't look and feel so stupid.
Cutting the cord on Shia LaBeouf and the rest of the characters we've lived with for three films in order to create distance for the next film makes sense... but doing the same with the robots that have become synonamous with TRANSFORMERS on any level? Well, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
Potentially no Optimus Prime... no Bumblebee... what gives? What is the meaning behind all of this? Weren't they the least objectionable aspects of Bay's first three films?
Maybe, but they seem to have plateaued for Hasbro, who wants to inject some new blood into the franchise in order to inject some new revenue in their balance sheets.
At the UBS Best Of Americas 2012 Conference (via TFW2005), Brian Goldner, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hasbro, explained that, while TRANSFORMERS 3 may have done well at the box office, the film did nothing for their toy sales. "...it’s because of same characters in all three movies. This is why Transformers 4 will have a new cast of [robot] characters and it will be a story revolving around these new characters."
So... if we want to see the Autobots and Decepticons we've become familiar with over the years to the point that TRANSFORMERS means something to many of us, we have to go out and drop some coin on buying up their toys, so you know we like them enough to keep incorporating them into future films...?
It certainly looks that way, which looks like a one-way ticket to disaster, if you ask me.
I've got my fingers crossed that the direction of the next film isn't being directed by toy sales, but that might not be enough.
-Billy Donnelly
"The Infamous Billy The Kidd"
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