The long-awaited Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover on the big screen is moving forward with Steven Spielberg producing.
Per Deadline, Paramount CEO Brian Robbins appeared at the studio’s CinemaCon presentation in Las Vegas where he announced the contract extension of Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura. Among the projects di Bonaventura will oversee are the animated Transformers One and the Transformers/G.I. Joe event movie that was teased in the final scene of last year’s Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. While no director or screenwriter is currently attached, Transformers franchise executive producer Spielberg has been confirmed by Paramount to return alongside Mark Vahradian, Michael Bay, Tom DeSanto & Don Murphy.
While promoting Rise of the Beasts last year, di Bonaventura teased what’s in store for the upcoming blockbuster event. “I don’t look at things like a universe, I look at them as a story and [the Joes] will be a part of the story,” Di Bonaventura said. “I also think the term ‘crossover’ means different things for different people. For me, the Joes, whoever they are, are entering the world of Transformers, not combining the two worlds. The plan is to eventually do [a crossover]. But, for the next movie, it’s the Joes that are coming in for whatever the ending of Rise of the Beasts has led us to believe is possible.”
Michael Bay stood in the way of a Transformers/G.I. Joe crossover
Paramount had a temptation to bring Hasbro‘s robots in disguise and the real American heroes together since their initial big-screen outings with 2007’s Transformers and 2009’s G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. Former Transformers director and producer Bay played a major part in keeping the brands separate from one another out of fear it would hurt his franchise. Following his appointment as Paramount CEO in 2021, Robbins talked Bay into approving the project.
“I called him 50 times,” Robbins said. “I would not let him off the hook. And when he finally stopped dodging my calls, we got him to sign off.”
The untilted Transformers/G.I. Joe crossover movie does not have a release date. Meanwhile, Transformers One is scheduled for release on September 13, 2024.
