Michael Bay is right now perhaps the biggest name in the matter of action blockbusters. Since his beginnings in the direction of feature films with titles like Bad Boys (1995) and The Rock (1996), the man already showed his interest in spectacular explosions and adrenaline action sequences full of cars, more explosions and a frantic pace. A special mention is deserved by his obsession with robots and crazy technology, that brought us the first 5 titles of the famed Transformers saga: Transformers (2007), Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009), Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011), Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) and the most recent (and highly disappointing) Transformers: The Last Knight (2017).
Now he seems to have stepped out of the first line in the Transformers universe, although he remains as producer of the upcoming Bumblebee (2018) and executive producer of the already announced Transformers 7 (2019). That doesn’t mean he has forgotten about futuristic robots and adrenaline action that has been his trademark of the last decade (with the exception of the pretty funny Pain & Gain (2013) and the epic 13 Hours (2016)).
In an exclusive revealed by Variety, Bay has announced that his next two films are going to be 6 Underground and Robopocalypse. Not much is known about the first one, only that it has been written by the duo who penned the scripts for the popular Zombieland (2009), Deadpool (2016) and Life (2017), Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. David Ellison, CEO of Skydance Media, which will produce 6 Underground, has stated “throughout his career Michael Bay has been unparalleled in creating global theatrical events. We couldn’t be more thrilled to have this amazing team come together, bringing their unique style and vision to the movie”.
On the other hand, Robopocalypse is a project that has been on the table in the movies industry for a while. First attached to Steven Spielberg to direct, this movie is based on the homonymous science fiction novel by Daniel H. Wilson published in 2011. In it, a computer scientist accidentally unleashes a supremely intelligent sentient A.I. named Archos R-14. It becomes self-aware and immediately starts planning the elimination of human civilization and building a new cryptic ecology, where the organic is being merged with robot technology. Over time, Archos R-14 infects all penetrable networked electronic devices, such as cars, airplanes, smart homes, elevators, and other robots, with a “precursor virus”. The screenplay for the movie has been written by Drew Goddard, the author of the texts for The Martian (2015), World War Z (2013) and The Cabin in the Woods (2012).
It is undoubted that Michael Bay has lots of detractors, but one should admit the man has a sixth sense for successful action blockbusters. Movies that won’t change the world, but bring a nice dose of entertainment and become icons of popular culture. Transformers (2007) was a fun movie, but the formula burnt-out fast and the latest titles of the saga were too tedious. But I still think Bay can still bring enjoyable movies. And I am especially excited about Robopocalypse! Although probably we’ll have to wait at least for a couple of years.
