Though we haven’t actually seen the results of the first big writers’ room experiment for Transformers yet, Paramount’s bigwigs apparently feel it’s worth trying for other big franchises, with Akiva Goldsman back setting up rooms for G.I. Joe and Micronauts.
G.I. Joe, of course, has already put two films into the ether with more traditional writing teams, but the studio and Goldsman clearly think that the room idea – which gathers a group of writers in a conference room for a few weeks to hash out ideas, figuring out storylines, create script bibles and potentially assign participants to work on future drafts the way most TV series work across the pond – had enough of an effect on the development of new Transformers films (including sequels and spin-offs) and want to keep trying it.
Micronauts, a fellow Hasbro property, has been floating in a tank of development goo at the studio for years, with writers including former DreamWorks Animation man Tom Wheeler taking a crack at turning the miniature action figures and robots into a Transformers-style potential franchise. Now Goldsman will also be in charge of that room, with other writers still to be announced.
These new responsibilities mean that he has to hand off actually writing Transformers 5, with Paramount looking to bring in Iron Man co-writers (and Transformers room veterans) Art Marcum and Matt Holloway to script it alongside Black Hawk Down’s Ken Nolan.