Michael Bay Was Initially Against That Final Reveal in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts may not have been the box office beast Paramount wanted it to be, but those who saw it surely won’t forget its ending. It’s an ending that required lots of planning and even more approvals, with one in particular being the most difficult to get: producer Michael Bay.

(Rise of the Beasts is now on Paramount+ if you want to see it for yourself, but from here, we’re going to go full spoilers.)

That ending sees Anthony Ramos’ character, Noah, being recruited by G.I. Joe. It marks the first time the two Hasbro action franchises have crossed over in live action and, in an interview with Variety, the CEO of Paramount Pictures Brian Robbins said he struggled with getting Bay to approve it.

According to the piece, Robbins had to get approval from Hasbro as well as Transformers producers Steven Spielberg and Michael Bay. Bay, however, thought a crossover could “cheapen” the previous Transformers movies, of which he directed the first five. “I called him 50 times,” Robbins told the trade. “I would not let him off the hook. And when he finally stopped dodging my calls, we got him to sign off.”

You kind of get Bay’s trepidation here. While most people would agree Bay’s movies are generally not great, he did spend around 15 years of his life on them. Bringing in a whole other franchise could certainly muddle some of that mythology, so he just wanted to be sure.

And so the movie ends with Noah and his Transformers friends being recruited by G.I. Joe, which sets the table for the future of both franchises. Speaking with io9 a few weeks back, the film’s director Steven Caple Jr. echoed his boss’s sentiments. “It just took us a while to get all the names and powers that be to sign on to this big sort of crossover move, especially as a newcomer to the franchise and trying to do something really bold,” he said. “But yeah, everyone’s really excited about the direction. I think again, introducing Unicron and [G.I.Joe] for potential crossovers allows us to open up the doors in terms of what direction we want to go in the future.”

That sequel is currently in development. No word on if Michael Bay will visit the set.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

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