Transformers Director Michael Bay Was Reluctant to Agree to That G.I. Joe Tease

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts gave audiences something they have been hoping to see for years, which was the confirmation that the Transformers and G.I. Joe franchises could be earning a crossover, but making this crossover possible was a bit more complicated than one might think. Producer Brian Robbins confirmed with Variety that, in order for this tease to happen in Rise of the Beasts, he had to get approval from filmmakers behind the 2007 Transformers, including Steven Spielberg and Michael Bay, and that Bay was apprehensive about establishing these connections. While this tease is hopeful for fans, there are currently no confirmed plans for what the future of either franchise will be.

Variety detailed, “That eureka moment was to have G.I. Joe enter the robots’ cinematic universe, bringing together two of Paramount’s biggest franchises. But that required Robbins to convince Hasbro, the toy company behind both sets of characters, and producers Steven Spielberg and Michael Bay, to let the studio bring the worlds together. And Bay’s approval was tricky, because he was worried that merging the series would cheapen the other Transformers movies.”

“I called him 50 times,” Robbins admitted to the outlet. “I would not let him off the hook. And when he finally stopped dodging my calls, we got him to sign off.” 

It’s understandable that Bay would be a bit protective over the Transformers franchise, as he directed the first five entries into the live-action franchise, while also serving as the producer on 2018’s Bumblebee. Additionally, Bay’s Transformers films have earned billions of dollars worldwide, while the G.I. Joe brand has had a much more lackluster reception. The first two G.I. Joe movies in 2009 and 2013 both failed to cross the $400-million mark, while 2021’s prequel Snake Eyes only took in an abysmal $40 million worldwide.

The filmmakers behind Transformers know that it’s only a matter of time before the official crossover happens, it was just a matter of finding the right opportunity.

“We’ve talked about it since the beginning of the franchise because the fans have been like, ‘Come on, when you are going to do Joe?!,’ and the truth of the matter is there’s so many great Transformers characters that we didn’t feel like we needed to rush and do G.I. Joe,” producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura revealed to ComicBook.com. “But you also want an organic way ootherwise it feels like a cynical exercise.”

He added, “What happened here was by creating a character, [Anthony Ramos’s] character, that can’t get a job. The world is not easy on him and at the end of this movie, he gets offered the greatest job ever. That’s really how it happened, we finally found a way to organically bring it in.”

Stay tuned for details on the future of the Transformers and G.I. Joe franchises.

Are you looking forward to a crossover? Let us know in the comments!