Michael Bay Confirms He Is Not Involved in 'Transformers 4' and '5'

Photo credit: jlnphotography/Johnny Louis/WENN

After Jason Statham slammed the rumors that he might replace Shia LaBeouf in the next "Transformers" movies, director Michael Bay also spoke up to clarify the report that he's still interested to helm the sequels. The "Armageddon" filmmaker claimed that he will not return as the director for "Transformers 4" and "5".

Through a message on Shoot for the Edit forum, the 46-year-old filmmaker confirmed, "I am currently not talking to Paramount on T4 and T5 despite reports." He continued, "I'm looking at a lot of possibilities coming my way right now weighing options. "

Bay elaborated furthermore that he is now focusing on his passion project called "Pain and Gain", writing, "Most likely going to be doing the low budget 'Pain and Gain', a true story crime thriller. It's a very quick shoot and quite funny." He added, "Also just finishing the 3 disc set of the 'Transformers' trilogy."

Last Monday, October 17, Hasbro confirmed that it is currently in "active discussion" with Bay, Steven Spielberg and Paramount Pictures about developing "Transformers 4" and "5". Variety reported that Paramount plans to shoot the sequels back-to-back to save budgets, adding that Bay is still interested to direct and Statham is likely to replace LaBeouf as the lead actor.

Following the report, Statham poured cold water to the rumors about his involvement in the autobot-war film franchise. Speaking to MTV, he claimed that he wondered how the gossip started. "You know, I don't know how those things start. You read them. Someone told me about it. [But] the internet is a dangerous place. There's a lot of stuff out there," so he said.

The latest "Transformers" movie, "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" was released last June 29. It has grossed $1.1. billion worldwide, placing it on the fourth place in the all-time box-office list. Bay served behind the lens, while LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Tyrese Gibson as well as Josh Duhamel are among the cast ensemble.