Transformers’ Next Movie Officially Won’t be the Crossover Everyone Wants (But There’s Still Hope)

Like Star Trek and other major franchises owned by Paramount, the future of the Transformers franchise is very unclear. Transformers had been losing brand appeal since its heyday in the 2000s, when the franchise was robust, with Michael Bay’s big-budget films, multiple cartoon series, and all the merchandising that came with them. Since then, the movies have particularly struggled to recapture the same kind of pop-culture success as Bay’s films, but there was one big hope that fans could believe in.

The last live-action Transformers film to hit theaters was Rise of the Beasts in 2023. That film continued the soft reboot of the franchise that Paramount has been doing to bring the live-action films more in line with the G1 cartoon series. However, fans got the surprise of a lifetime when Rise of the Beasts ended with a major crossover reveal that (SPOILERS!) the G.I. Joe military organization is a part of this new Transformers universe.

Since 2023, fans have been waiting for the Transformers/G.I. Joe crossover film to happen, while producers of the franchise have never stopped teasing that it’s coming. However, we’ve also gotten several reports of other Transformers movie projects that are also in development. With the pipeline full, there’s been a lot of questions about when, exactly, Transformers/G.I. Joe will be arriving. Today, unfortunately, one of the people closest to the project is confirming that it’s not happening soon.

Transformers Director Reveals Status of G.I. Joe Crossover Film

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts director Steven Caple Jr. is doing Netflix’s Man on Fire TV series reboot, and sat down with Ash Crossan of Screen Rant to discuss the future of the Transformers franchise. When asked for an update on the Transformers/G.I. Joe Crossover, Caple Jr., had disappointing news to share:

“I still do have big plans for what that could be, but we’ll have to see. We’ll have to see what comes about it. I am not part of the next Transformers film, but it’s still in development, and there’s still time, so you just never know. Yeah.”

In 2024, director Derek Connelly (Kong: Skull Island, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) was tapped to write the Transformers/G.I. Joe crossover film, but it stalled in development.

Longtime Transformers and G.I. Joe movie producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura still kept hope alive when he talked to  ComicBook, saying, “We are going to deliver on the promise we made. We’ve talked about it since the beginning of the franchise because the fans have been like, ‘Come on, when are you going to do Joe?!’”

Despite any prior teases or fan expectations, the Transformers/G.I. Joe crossover film is not longer a priority for Paramount.

Which Transformers Movie Are We Getting Next?

The first signs that the Transformers/G.I. Joe crossover was dead in development, which came last month, when it was announced that Paramount is actively developing two different versions of a G.I. Joe reboot, with writer Max Landis (Chronicle) developing one script, while comedian/actor/writer Danny McBride (Halloween) is working on another. It didn’t seem likely that Paramount was going to invest in a solo G.I. Joe franchise, and a crossover with Transformers at the same time. And now we know they won’t be.

Last summer, we got a report that Paramount is looking to bring back Michael Bay to make another Transformers movie in his universe, while director Josh Cooley was making the jump from animation (Transformers One) to a live-action Transformers film that was separate from Bay’s.

New Transformers and G.I. Joe projects are in active development at Paramount. No release dates have been set.

Transformers One Director Working on New Live-Action Transformers Movie (& 4 More Are in the Works)