Transformers 4 Will Star New Transformers

[The Wooster]

Transformers 4 Will Star New Transformers

Poor action figure sales mean Optimus Prime may be out of a job.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon didn't impress critics. In fact, the kindest thing I've seen said about it was that it wasn't quite as awful as Revenge of the Fallen. Despite its critical trouncing, the film went on to be the most successful installment in the series and the fifth highest-grossing film in history. Yet, despite the film's success, merchandise sales were down when compared to the previous film. Hasbro thinks the problem is that kids are just sick of Optimus Prime and co.

According to a Hasbro presentation at the UBS Best of Americas 2012 Conference, using the same cast of robots in each film is what's slowing down merch sales. As a result, the company announced that the tentatively titled Transformers 4 will focus on a selection of new robot characters designed to appeal to kids.

While Transformers 4 will exist in the same continuity as the previous three films, it's also being billed as a kind of semi-reboot. Rumor has it that Bay intends to "clean house" and remove the numerous central human characters in favor of literal rather than figurative robot actors.

Hasbro also confirmed that the much-anticipated Stretch Armstrong [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lw17Pb7Nso] film (no, really [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1379164/]) is on track for a 2014 release, alongside a television series based on the same character. Breck Eisner, of Sahara fame, is set to direct. God have mercy on our souls.

Source: TFW2005 [http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/transformers-4-revealed-tfw2005-coverage-of-ubs-best-of-americas-2012-conference-175894/]

Permalink

 

[verindae]

Ok seriously, if there's one thing you absolutely can't remove from transformers it's Optimus Prime. Remember the first Transformers movie back in 1986? Yeah not gonna help sales that.

Also of note, Peter Cullen has an awesome voice lol

 

[Kopikatsu]

Well, at least they're going in the right direction with nixing the human mains.

If you go to see a movie about giant robots, it best damn well be about giant robots and not some kind of willy nilly teenage romance bullshit.

 

[el_kabong]

After Revenge of the Fallen, there's really no news I can receive that will make me believe that the movie franchise can suck anymore. They could tell me that they were replacing the human characters with adorable monkeys that teach the Transformers how to dance and love. Couldn't be worse than Revenge. No matter what changes they want to make, Micheal Bay is still directing. That means another crappy Transformers movie.

If anything, I HOPE that they use entirely new characters. That way, it won't feel like my childhood is being violated when they take insane liberties with the main fantasy icons of my youth.

 

[Andy of Comix Inc]

"...characters designed to appeal to kids."

Look. Movie studio. I don't know if you know this, but every kid ever wants to either be or meet one of the following:

a) Batman

b) Optimus Prime

If you remove Optimus Prime, in favour of some new guys tailor-made to be "appealing," we get into a bizarro universe a la Star Wars: Episode 1. Or, to put it another way: every kid wants to either be or meet one of the following:

a) Han Solo

b) Luke Skywalker

Going by this logic: no kid wants to be Anakin Skywalker. No kid wants to meet Jar-Jar fucking Binks. No kid wants to see an old, stoic Obi-Wan Kenobi complaining. As soon as you start trying to appeal to kids, you will lose what has already proven to appeal to kids. You get my drift, movie studio?

Mmm? Eh? Movie studio? You understand?

YOU'RE ALL FUCKING MORONS is my point here in case you haven't gathered.

 

[loa]

There are actually action figures of bay transformers, those new hilariously complicated looking things of which the villains are completely indiscernible?

 

[Shinsei-J]

People tried this once before, and kids wanted blood.
This will be getting rid of the only reason people watched the last M.B Transformers, Optimus Prime.

 

[Space Jawa]

Ok seriously, if there's one thing you absolutely can't remove from transformers it's Optimus Prime. Remember the first Transformers movie back in 1986? Yeah not gonna help sales that.

Also of note, Peter Cullen has an awesome voice lol

I thought the main problem with the 86 film was that they killed Optimus Prime (and kept him dead).

If he's not present to begin with, I don't think the lack of Optimus in and of itself should be nearly the same kind of issue.

Well, at least they're going in the right direction with nixing the human mains.

I thought the human soldiers were one of the best things about the movie. Especially once they proved to be effective allies of the Autobots who were genuinely helpful in combating the Decepticons.

You know, next to the actual transformers themselves.

And the music, of course. The music for those movies was awesome.

 

[The_Blue_Rider]

You know if this film has amazing music like the animated 80's one, then I might go watch it

 

[Kopikatsu]

Well, at least they're going in the right direction with nixing the human mains.

I thought the human soldiers were one of the best things about the movie. Especially once they proved to be effective allies of the Autobots who were genuinely helpful in combating the Decepticons.

You know, next to the actual transformers themselves.

And the music, of course. The music for those movies was awesome.

I didn't mean that the movie would have been better without humans in it, just that it would have been better without the boy and his girlfriend.

 

[doctorwhofan]

The 1986 movie was so much better than all the new ones. Even Optimus being killed off. At least it wasn't a stupid death by Micheal Bay.

Hasbro needs to realise they should stop blaming Prime for Micheal Bay. At this point Starscream would be a better director.

On that note: Perhap a fan protest needs to be ordered.

 

[1337mokro]

What does it matter? I couldn't even tell these transformers apart. The only ones I could tell apart were Optimus, Megatron and Starscream, because Starscream could fly. Then they introduced more flying ones and it basically boiled down to two robots.

What would NEW ones being added change? More in-comprehensiveness? Worse movies?

 

[The Human Torch]

Maybe this has to do with the fact that if you already launched a Transformers action figure two times prior for each movie, most kids will already OWN an Optimus Prime figure and will want something else. No matter how good/bad your movies are, not many kids will buy the same action figure twice.

 

[Notsomuch]

This is going to be great.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Maybe if the movies and characters were geared towards kids, they would sell better. From what I've seen of the Transformers trilogy, it looked like the target demographic was...exactly the kind of people Bob keeps talking about when he uses the Anti-Thinker voice. Granted it would be hilarious to watch Transformers 4 turn into Transformers: Attack of Unicron (ie: a live action adaptation of the 86 movie).

Also...WHY is there a Stretch Armstrong movie in the works?! Who the Hell asked for that?! Why would you DO that?!?!

I'm going to spoil the worst joke in the movie (the one that will likely be in the trailer too)

(Lead female/love interest to Stretch): "So...can you stretch any part of your body?"

 

[Lizardon]

Ok seriously, if there's one thing you absolutely can't remove from transformers it's Optimus Prime. Remember the first Transformers movie back in 1986? Yeah not gonna help sales that.

Also of note, Peter Cullen has an awesome voice lol

I thought the main problem with the 86 film was that they killed Optimus Prime (and kept him dead).

If he's not present to begin with, I don't think the lack of Optimus in and of itself should be nearly the same kind of issue.

Well the issue with the movie was that they killed of all the old characters, Optimus included, in favour of new "cool" characters designed for the kids. Except instead of buying the toys for the characters, fans apparently revolted against the changes to the point where Optimus was revived later on.

It wasn't so much that the old characters were gone, just that the replacements were so terrible and annoying.

 

[Nouw]

I don't really think this is going to change anything . Most of the live-action Transformers are wildly different from their cartoon counter-part.

 

[Legion]

Maybe this has to do with the fact that if you already launched a Transformers action figure two times prior for each movie, most kids will already OWN an Optimus Prime figure and will want something else. No matter how good/bad your movies are, not many kids will buy the same action figure twice.

Good job I scrolled up before pressing post, you said exactly what I did.

Although if this is the kind of logic that leads to them creating new characters, just to sell some toys (as opposed to making the actual film good) then it's an idiotic idea.

At any rate:

Spoiler: Because we all know how much the fans loved the new characters.

 

[ryo02]

do they not remember how fans came together to get the original voice of Optimus Prime? ... how many years has it been since he was prime again? and they claim people are sick of prime? -_- riiiight.

the show/movies may as well be called Optimus Prime.

 

[Dryk]

Wait... they were aiming these movies as kids?... what...