Michael Bay is making another Transformers movie, and while this is exciting, the director’s return to the franchise shouldn’t get rid of one aspect that the live-action Transformers movies nailed without him. Michael Bay is the filmmaker who started the live-action Transformers franchise, and while it has been a while since he directed one, he is finally returning more than eight years after this last entry.

Michael Bay kicked off the modern live-action Transformers series with the release of the first film in 2007. It was a huge hit, leading to a litany of sequels and the further expansion of the mᴀssive franchise. Bay directed the first five films in the series, but after the critical and commercial disappointment of Transformers: The Last Knight, the franchise had to make some changes.

So, Paramount decided to soft reboot the franchise, taking things in a new direction with the release of 2018’s Bumblebee. This film changed the designs of some characters and was pretty liberal with Michael Bay’s Transformers continuity, leading to debates over whether they were canon. Then, things only got more complicated with the release of 2023’s Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.

Michael Bay’s Transformers Movie Needs To Keep Utilizing G1 Designs

After They Worked So Well In Rise Of The Beasts

Michael Bay is officially returning to direct another Transformers movie, and while very little is known about the project, it is incredibly exciting for fans of the older live-action films. However, fans of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts are a little worried, as Bay’s return risks one of the best aspects of the modern movies: the G1 designs.

The Generation 1 designs are the most well-known Transformers designs, with them being used in the original cartoon and toy line. Michael Bay famously thought that the G1 designs wouldn’t work in a live-action Transformers movie, leading to the characters having their designs updated for his 2007 take on the franchise.

The character designs in Michael Bay’s Transformers movies weren’t beloved by fans of the franchise, which is why the updated designs in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and Bumblebee were so exciting. They finally proved that the G1 designs could work in live-action, and that they looked much better than the old live-action designs.

However, with Bay back at the helm, he could go back to his old designs. It is possible that Bay could listen to fan demand and keep the G1 designs now that it has been proven that they can work in live-action. However, this is the scariest part of Bay’s return, as it could lead the live-action Transformers series down a bad path that has already been traveled.