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Why making ‘Transformers’ was scary for director Michael


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Published : 04 Jul 2022 08:55 PM

Director Michael Bay explains why it was scary making Transformers, at least at first. Released in 2007, Bay's first movie in the franchise marked the beginning of a saga that is still seeing new installments to this day. Transformers tells the story of Shia LaBeouf's Sam Witwicky who unwittingly becomes a key player in the ancient ongoing war between two factions of sentient robots, the Autobots and the Decepticons. The film proved divisive amongst critics, but was a big success at the box office, earning over $709 million.

Inspired by the Hasbro toy line of the same name, Transformers brings to life characters like Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) and Megatron (Hugo Weaving) in live-action for the first time. The film boasted a budget of $147 million and featured what was, at the time, ground-breaking visual effects work, much of which still holds up quite well today. Transformers also features a talented supporting cast, including the likes of Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, John Turturro, Anthony Anderson, Jon Voight, Rachel Taylor, and Kevin Dunn.

In a new interview with Yahoo, Bay reflects on his time making Transformers, recalling that he was actually quite scared at first. Bay explains that there was a lot of pressure to have the robots look real because if they didn't then the whole movie might have fallen apart. He also reveals that he was initially skeptical about the entire idea of turning the Hasbro toys into a live-action movie, but that seeing some of the finished visual effects shots quickly alleviated those concerns.

The first generation of Hasbro's Transformers was introduced in the 1980s alongside an original animated TV show, with both quickly becoming popular among kids. With the toys being so beloved and having such an established presence in pop culture, it's certainly understandable that Bay would be nervous to undertake the first live-action version of characters. Although many criticized aspects of Transformers' story and some of the film's characters, few would deny that the movie brought the Transformers character to life with awe-inspiring visual effects.

Although more recent entries in the franchise, like Transformers: The Last Knight, have largely failed to strike a chord with audiences, the original films with LaBeouf are still well-regarded among many fans. Bay previously expressed that he should have stopped making Transformers movies after 2011's Transformers: Dark of the Moon, hinting that his time with the franchise might be at an end. Despite Bay no longer being involved as a director, a seventh Transformers movie is in development under franchise newcomer Steven Caple Jr., meaning a new era of stories with Autobots and Decepticons may be on the horizon.-Collider