Remember when Transformers first came out in 2007, and you were all excited to see it, and it ended up being mostly about Shia Labeouf and Megan Fox? And you were all like “Huh, that’s odd. But the Transformers were cool, for the time they were actually in the film.” And then remember when Revenge of the Fallen came out a couple of years later, and it was still mostly about Shia Labeouf and Megan Fox, and kind of sucked a lot? And you were all like “Ok, well that sucked, but the Transformers were in it a little more, even though some were totally racist.” And then remember when Dark of the Moon came out a couple of years later, and it was marginally better, but it was mostly about Shia and some other hot chick? And you were all like “What the hell, man? Why are we still watching Transformers movies about people? And what the hell happened to John Turturro’s career?” And then remember when Age of Extinction came out a few years later, and it was mostly about Mark Wahlberg and his hot daughter, and it was about forty five minutes too long, and even though they gave the Autobots a little more to do, they were still not the focus of the film? And you were all like “WHAT THE HOLY FUCK?! Why can’t they make a goddamn Transformers movie actually be about the goddamn Transformers?! And why why the frig is John Goodman in this movie?! AAAAHHHH!!!!!!”
Well, there may be some good news for you. According to Deadline, we may possibly be seeing a CGI Transformers origin story that takes place on their home planet of Cybertron. While a live action sequel with Wahlberg is still on the table, it sounds like they want to create a broader franchise, which would include spinoffs, sequels and prequels. Look, having people in the series is important. Spike and Sparkplug’s roles in the original animated series was to allow the Autobots to relate to the humans, and vice versa. But they were minor characters, as Spike and his son Daniel were in 1986 movie and the later series. Obviously cost is probably the biggest issue. Animating those things can’t be cheap. But I imagine if you tone down the chaotic battles a touch, and perhaps tweak the robot designs a bit to resemble something more simple like the original series, you could probably shave off a few bucks. Then if they could just lose scenes like robots pissing motor oil, they could be on the right track.