2018's Bumblebee might not have crushed the box office the way some of its Michael Bay-powered franchise siblings might have in the past, but it was well-regarded by critics and enjoyed by audiences for its character-over-chaos approach. So naturally, Paramount has rushed to start work on a sequel, right? Not so much... More than a year since the film's release, the studio has begun begun developing new Transformers movies, but it appears to be headed in new directions.
According to Variety, scripts are underway from Joby Harold (King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword and the upcoming Army Of The Dead) and James Vanderbilt (Zodiac, The Amazing Spider-Man and Murder Mystery, among others). Details of plot and characters have yet to be released, but the trade mag reports that the aim will be to build out multiple storylines within the franchise. That could mean a continuation for the Bumblebee story, but the expectation is that these will be new stories with fresh casts.
The scripts are still being written, but Paramount won't want to let the Transformers franchise go cold for long, so expect director announcements as soon as the studio considers either script is ready. Yes, we've heard every joke about, "well, that would be a first!" Thanks.