Steven Spielberg is set to take a bigger creative role in the Transformers franchise as Paramount Pictures develops its eighth film.
According to Variety, Spielberg will executive-produce Transformers 8 and oversee its creative direction alongside longtime producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura.
The pair aim to recapture the tone of the earlier films, which Spielberg was more closely involved with. No director has been announced, while Michael Bay’s role remains unclear.
Shia LaBeouf will not return, with other casting talks still at an early stage. Jason Fuchs is writing the film, which will be set in the present day, though plot details remain under wraps.
The film will be produced by di Bonaventura, Mark Vahradian, Don Murphy, Tom DeSanto and Hasbro. Spielberg and di Bonaventura previously collaborated on the first two films.
Paramount has also dropped its Transformers-G.I. Joe crossover, instead developing a new G.I. Joe film with Danny McBride.
