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Source: Dark Horizons

Word came out a few months ago that Paramount was collecting a group of screenwriters to work on a Transformers Cinematic Universe (an example of a Cinematic Universe is a shared universe like the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Cinematic Universe- a collection of films that all take place within one another. Cinematic Universes are currently the thing with movie studios. Everyone is looking to expand a franchise into a “Universe” as episodic films seem to be the money making thing right now).

Now comes word that Michael Bay is back to direct a fifth Transformers along with another animated origin film that is currently being written. There was a pitch meeting, with producer Stephen Spielberg, where 9 stories were pitched 5 of which were picked up as potential films.

While I loved the first Transformers film I haven’t exactly loved the rest of them. They have spun off into confusing, vomit inducing action sequences that make no sense. I used to be a huge fan of Michael Bay (lets just say ‘Bad Boys’ and ‘The Rock’) back when he didn’t fully rely on special effects to make his films.

My personal feelings on Cinematic Universes (CU) is that, not everything needs to be within the same world. From the websites I read and podcasts I listen to we’ve got Universal coming up with a Universal Monster CU, Sony coming up with a Robin Hood CU along with merging 21 Jump Street and Men in Black and possibly a Ghostbusters CU (and honestly, if anything, Sony should have Ghostbusters and Men in Black in the same universe since MIB is a rip off of Ghostbusters. I’m just saying) and I’m pretty sure Warner Bros. is chomping at the bit to get Harry Potter made into a CU. And that’s just to name a few off the top of my head.

Some of us prefer just stand alone movies. Not everything needs to be in a shared universe or a trilogy. Sometimes one story is just enough.