Excitement for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts appears somewhat muted. However, for fans who enjoyed Michael Bay's Transformers movies, it looks like this latest instalment of the franchise will be exactly what they've been waiting for after Bumblebee dialled back the crazy action.
During a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Rise of the Beasts director Steven Caple Jr. confirmed he reached out to Bay, the filmmaker behind four Transformers movies, to ask for his advice.
"You want to make sure you’re in your creative bubble when trying to design this world and build out the franchise, but similar to when I stepped into the Creed franchise, you call the ones who have done it before you, whether it be Sylvester Stallone or Ryan Coogler. So I’m doing the same here. I hit up Michael Bay, who’s, of course, a producer on this project."
"He was making Ambulance at the time, but he still picked up the phone and hopped onto Zoom. And a lot of it was like, 'How do I deal with visual effects?' because that’s a new area for me," Caple Jr. continues. "So it was a huge learning curve, and it was like going through school again, if you will. Monday through Friday, I was prepping for the film, and Saturday, Sunday, I was learning a lot from the visual effects supervisor and calls with Michael Bay."
"He gave hints and tips on how to accomplish certain things, so you‘ve definitely gotta hit those guys up who’ve done it before me. It helps."
It was Bay who established the look of the Transformers franchise, and after Bumblebee somewhat underwhelmed at the box office, the franchise appears to be returning to the sort of over-the-top action he made a staple of those financially successful blockbusters (how they fared with critics is another matter altogether).
Bay produces Rise of the Beasts, so his influence being felt was inevitable. Bumblebee remains the franchise's only well-reviewed release, but its $468 million haul paled in comparison to previous instalments, and Paramount now seems to be trying to go back to an action-packed approach that once worked so well for them.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is set to be released in U.S. theatres on June 9.