History of Transformers Timeline

Goldsman described the writer's room collaboration process as a way to map out stories that can be further developed by green-lit projects. In August 2017, following the poor reception of The Last Knight, which Goldsman co-wrote, the filmmaker officially left the franchise.

In March 2015, Deadline Hollywood reported that Paramount was in talks with Akiva Goldsman to pitch new ideas for the franchise's future installments. Paramount later hired the Academy Award-winning screenwriter to oversee and compile a team of writers to expand the franchise into a cinematic universe.

Paramount spent $80 million on production in Michigan, in return for $21 million in state incentives, under agreements entered into before the state legislature eliminated the film office incentive program in July 2015.

In July 2015, Akiva Goldsman and Jeff Pinkner were announced as the fifth Transformers film's screenwriters.

In early January 2016, in an interview with Rolling Stone, Bay stated that he would return to direct the fifth film, and that it will be his last Transformers film.

In April 2016, Paramount hired cinematographer Jonathan Sela for the fifth Transformers film.

An untitled The Last Knight sequel had been announced during plans for a "Transformers Cinematic Universe" with a scheduled release date of June 28, 2019; the film was removed from Paramount's release schedule following the negative reception to The Last Knight.

Principal photography on Bumblebee began in July 2017, in Los Angeles and San Francisco, California.

Image source: Bumblebee (film)

In December 2018, di Bonaventura stated that there will be further films in the series, while acknowledging that the franchise will make some changes in tone and style due to the success of Bumblebee.

Bumblebee, directed by Travis Knight, was released on December 21, 2018, to positive reviews—the sixth film in the series and the first without Michael Bay directing.

Rise of the Beasts, directed by Steven Caple Jr., was released on June 9, 2023, becoming the seventh film in the live-action series.

Image source: Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

By March 2019, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura confirmed that a script was being written for sequels to both The Last Knight and Bumblebee.

In March 2019, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura announced ongoing developments for a follow-up to Bumblebee.

By January 2020, it was officially announced that a sequel to Bumblebee was in development with a script written by Joby Harold, alongside an adaptation of Transformers: Beast Wars with a script written by James Vanderbilt.

The film was scheduled for release on June 24, 2022, that May, while in November, Steven Caple Jr. was attached as director.

In March 2021, another film entered development directed by Ángel Manuel Soto, from a script written by Marco Ramirez.

In April 2021, Anthony Ramos was cast in one of the lead roles for the film, with Dominique Fishback in final talks to play the other lead role.

Principal photography began in June 2021, with the official title announced as Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, confirmed to be set after the events of Bumblebee.

In July 2021, producer di Bonaventura and actor Henry Golding expressed interest in developing a crossover film between Transformers and G.I. Joe, and a crossover film entered discussion.

In an interview in September 2021, when asked about the possibility of a sequel to The Last Knight, actor Josh Duhamel expressed interest in reprising his role as Colonel William Lennox.

Rise of the Beasts was originally scheduled for release in June 2022, but was delayed until June 9, 2023.

In February 2022 at the ViacomCBS Investors' Event, Paramount announced that Rise of the Beasts would be the first installment of a new trilogy of films.

Beginning with Rise of the Beasts in June 2023, the Transformers and G.I. Joe franchises began to share continuity. Di Bonaventura also stated that future installments will progressively include elements and characters from the G.I. Joe universe.

In July 2023, di Bonaventura stated that while the crossover would not interfere with the continuity of the franchise's first five installments, he believed that "continuity's overblown, because sometimes you miss a great idea."

In April 2024, Paramount announced that a Transformers/G.I. Joe crossover film is in development.

Derek Connolly was hired to write the Transformers/G.I. Joe crossover film in June 2024.

On November 20, 2024, after the underperformance of the animated film Transformers One (2024), Hasbro announced that they would no longer be co-financing film adaptations, instead leaving external studios to exclusively fund such projects.

In June 2025, it was announced that Michael Bay was attached to direct a new Transformers film based on an idea he had pitched to the studio, with Jordan VanDina penning the screenplay.

In June 2025, it was reported that Josh Cooley, who previously directed the 2024 animated film Transformers One, had signed on to direct an upcoming live-action Transformers film.

In July 2025, Anthony Ramos, who starred in Rise of the Beasts, noted the film's uncertain status due to the Skydance-Paramount merger.

In June 2026, it was reported that Jason Fuchs would write a script for one of several Transformers films that are in development.