After the success of Michael Bay's
Transformers trilogy, Paramount Pictures will inevitably continue making films for some time. Bay confirmed that his next entry in the franchise (which bows June 27th, 2014) will certainly be his last, and even stated that
Transformers 4 will set things up for the next director. Personally, I would prefer if Paramount completely rebooted the franchise. The
Transformers movies have been very entertaining, but they're far from the best versions of the robots (too much focus on the humans, very poor attempts at humor, etc). I would love to see a prequel/reboot (in the vein of
Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes,
Star Trek and
X-Men: First Class) which follows the
War For Cybertron storyline.
To successfully craft a
Transformers movie, you need to make the characters likable and the visuals top notch. Below, I've listed six directors who I think can accomplish just that.
Jon Favreau
Iron Man
After directing two very successful
Iron Man films for Paramount, the studio would be quite foolish not to consider Favreau for another one of their big projects. Favreau would be an excellent fit for
Transformers. He already has experience filming robotic battles in
Iron Man, and also succeeds in making characters likable (last year's box office flop
Cowboys & Aliens wasn't as successful in that department, however). And he can also make a
Transformers movie fun/light hearted, and people usually see these movies because they're fun (perhaps the best aspect of the Michael Bay trilogy).
George Nolfi
The Adjustment Bureau
Nolfi may seem like an inexperienced choice to helm a movie as huge as
Transformers, but after directing his extremely impressive directorial debut
The Adjustment Bureau last year, I'm okay with him directing a much bigger movie. He's a director who isn't afraid to think outside the box, and
The Adjustment Bureau (though based on a short story) felt like a complete breath of fresh air. I think Nolfi can bring some of that to the
Transformers franchise.
J.J. Abrams
Star Trek
Abrams previously rebooted the
Star Trek franchise for Paramount, and did a phenomenal job doing so. He can perfectly balance comedy and seriousness, intense action and slower scenes. Abrams has been suggested for a lot of geek-related movies (I previously featured him on my
Justice League directors wish list), but I think he'd be a perfect fit for
Transformers. Heck, imagine the whole Bad Robot crew taking on
Transformers. That would be a dream come true.
Duncan Jones
Source Code
Another director who can create smart movies, Jones has been on geeks' wish lists for nearly every comic book movie (from Batman and Daredevil to Green Lantern and even Justice League). After releasing the brilliant
Source Code last year, I'd be okay with his helming any CBM. I'm certain that Jones can craft a creative take on
Transformers, and always manages to thrill his viewers. I wouldn't be surprised if Jones becomes the next "geek god" of movie directors.
Joss Whedon
Marvel's The Avengers
While we're discussing geek gods, I would like to add nerds' current favorite director to this list. In all seriousness, could Whedon be any more perfect for a movie like
Transformers? After helming the absolutely remarkable
The Avengers, any studio would kill to have Whedon direct one of their films.
Transformers would be a perfect fit for the
Serenity director. Whedon can brilliantly direct action, drama, comedy, you name it.
Transformers could use all of that. And it doesn't hurt that
Avengers has been compared to
Transformers in the past.
Steven Spielberg
Raiders Of The Lost Ark
After executive producing Michael Bay's movies, I wouldn't be surprised if Spielberg would be interested in directing his own take on the
Transformers franchise. Last year, Tyrese Gibson suggested that Spielberg should helm
Transformers 4 if Bay doesn't return. But since we know that Bay will be back for one final installment, perhaps Spielberg could take the reins afterwards? And this is Steven Spielberg, one of the greatest directors of all time, that we're talking about here. Unless we have another
Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull-esque situation, I can see him do a bang up job with a
Transformers movie.
Well, that's my list of directors who I think deserve a shot at making a
Transformers movie. Feel free to vote in the poll below, and add any other suggestions/thoughts in the comments below.
Prior Installments In My "Directors" Editorial Series: Nine Directors Who Should Be Considered For JUSTICE LEAGUE Six Directors Who Should Be Considered For WONDER WOMAN Six Directors Who Should Be Considered For THE FLASH Six Directors Who Should Be Considered For The Next GREEN LANTERN Movie Six Directors Who Should Be Considered For DOCTOR STRANGE