RUMOR: Jason Statham Is Joining Transformers 4 Afterall?

The Transfomers franchise might be void of any real storytelling or characters but it's been a monster at the box office raking in around $2.6 billion worldwide. Over the summer it was rumored that British action star Jason Statham was going to replace Shia LaBeouf in Transformers 4. While Michael Bay's involvement has yet to be official yet the studio seems to be pushing for the fourth and fifth film. There seems to be vague confirmation via Twitter from stars Tyrese Gibson and Ken Jeong that "J.S" is going the cast.

I've had hate and love for the Transformers franchise enjoying the action scenes but loath Sam and his useless/unfunny comedic sub-plots. Also, the character designs of some of the robots have been beyond odd and even racist at times. I'm not sure how robots age, grow hair or even have lips (gold teeth?). However, the last installment's set pieces were stunning and I even liked how humans looked when they were vaporized into skeletons. The idea that Jason Statham could be the new face of the franchise gives me hope it could be moving in a better direction.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was recently brought in to boost appeal for both Fast Five and G.I. Joe Retaliation, giving both films much needed action star credibility. The former ended up being the biggest film of the Fast And Furious franchise leading Johnson to possibly return for the sixth film (also rumored to include Statham). With Retaliation, he's pretty much taken over the franchise from Channing Tatum (Duke) and looks like he's going to be very entertaining. This could be a similar move with hiring Statham for the next Transformers sequel.

Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson Could Star In Michael Bay's Pain And Gain

Variety reports that Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson could star in Michael Bay's dark comedy action thriller Pain And Gain. The film is about the real-life extortion ring and a kidnapping plot that goes horribly awry in the Miami area, hatched by a couple of Floridian bodybuilders. It's been compared to Fargo and it's budget is aimed at around $20 million which is small for Bay.

Jason Statham To Headline Transformers 4 & 5?

Variety reports that Michael Bay and producer Steven Spielberg are in talks to make more installments to the Transformers franchise. They also state that Transformers 4 and Transformers 5 could very well shoot at the same time. Considering how much money these movies make the studio it would make sense they would want to release two films soon. While the quality of the films are suspect in my opinion having the worst voice/acting and overall dialog in a blockbuster series. There is a glimmer of hope that a new direction could be in the cards. British action star Jason Statham has been rumored to be taking over the franchise from Shia.

It seems like a similar move made by studios to bring in Dwayne Johnson to boost the action-creditability of G.I. Joe 2 and Fast Five. Shia is a man in a boy's body at this point and hasn't really ever been believable as the film's leading man, none of the male actors have. The studio would be wise to go more full on action. So that Sam's side stories don't effect the pacing and the less comic relief the better. It would be nice if they hired a professional to run and jump around while being able to fire off guns.

I can't say that I'll ever be looking forward to more Transformers films but that might light a fire under the studio, since I'm not the only hater of the franchise. There are also people who enjoyed the first film but got burned by the terrible sequels. If Bay is able to make a "serious" Transformers film pumping in new blood with actual action stars it might turn my opinion around. However, with the last installment it didn't seem that Bay actually listened to what fans and critics alike hated about the first sequel. So they very well could continue what's been dragging down the quality.

Could Christopher Nolan Make Twilight Zone For Warner Bros. ?

ShowBlitz has word that Warner Bros. is trying to nail-down a director to helm their new Twilight Zone project. Unlike the original which featured four directors (Spielberg, John Landis, Joe Dante, George Miller) filming four separate segments honoring the series. This new version will have one director and a single story. The site says that they have interest from Christopher Nolan, Michael Bay and Alfonso Cuarón (Children Of Men). David Yates (Deathly Hollows 1-2) had been interested but moved on, Rupert Wyatt (Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes) is also in the mix.

I was a big fan of Twilight Zone (film/series) and Outer Limits so this project sort of speaks to me. Even without the involvement of Nolan and Cuarón I'd be interested to see how it would turn out. Nolan seems a good bet as he could really reinvent this quirky genre and possibility develop it into a new franchise. The only problem is that Christopher Nolan is a one picture director and is still busy The Dark Knight Rises and I doubt he commit to this until he's in post. Bay seems an uninspiring choice as I'd rather see him make Bad Boys 3 instead of ruining something that could be a thrilling ride with seizure inducing visuals. Cuarón is slowly becoming a darling at the studio making Prisoner Of Azkaban and Gravity with George Clooney/Sandra Bullock starring. Rupert Wyatt could be interesting as this isn't a 20th Century Fox strangle-hold project and he might be able to go a bit darker. Fox more than likely has Rupert locked in for an Apes trilogy and could be asked to return to make another film sooner than later.