The next Transformers movies make up one of the most successful film franchises of all time. Two movies in the franchise have made over $1 billion at the box office. However, recent Transformers movies haven't grossed as much money as earlier entries in the franchise. Director Michael Bay began the live-action Transformers movie universe in 2007, but no longer directs films in the series.
Ever since Bay stopped directing Transformers films after 2017's Transformers: The Last Knight, the franchise has been trying to reinvent itself. While 2023's Transformers: Rise of the Beasts wasn't as successful as any of the Michael Bay Transformers movies, it set up the next entry in the long-running franchise. The Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover for the next movie. While this is very exciting, now may not be the right time for a Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover.
Transformers & G.I. Joe Crossover Is Not What Transformers Needs After Recent Struggles
Recent Transformers Movies Have Struggled At The Box Office
The Michael Bay Transformers movies were all incredibly successful at the box office. The third and fourth films in the series both made over $1 billion at the box office. Even though the fifth movie, Transformers: The Last Knight, did not make close to $1 billion, it still grossed a respectable $602,893,340 at the worldwide box office (via The Numbers). The Last Knight was still a profitable Transformers movie, but started a downward trend for the franchise at the box office.
Every Live-Action Transformers Movie |
Worldwide Box Office |
RT Critics Score |
|---|---|---|
Transformers (2007) |
$708,272,592 |
57% |
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) |
$836,519,699 |
19% |
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) |
$1,123,794,079 |
38% |
Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) |
$1,104,054,072 |
18% |
Transformers: The Last Knight (2017) |
$602,893,340 |
16% |
Bumblebee (2018) |
$464,731,819 |
91% |
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023) |
$439,241,749 |
51% |
After Bay stopped directing movies in the franchise, two live-action Transformers movies have been released. 2018's Bumblebee made $464,731,820 at the box office and 2023's Transformers: Rise of the Beasts made $439,241,750. These box office earnings would be amazing for most films, but there are higher standards for Transformers movies. Transformers is a major franchise, but it has clearly been struggling recently at the box office. Therefore, it's possible that now is not the right time for a Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover movie.
The Transformers Franchise Has Yet To Find Its Identity After The Michael Bay Movies
The Transformers Franchise Needs To Move Beyond Michael Bay
With his five movies, Bay determined exactly how a Transformers movie should look on the big screen. Bay's movies included many of the most popular Autobots and Decepticons from the franchise, but were also all centered on human characters to slightly ground the films. Ever since Bay stopped directing Transformers movies, it is clear that the franchise has been trying to pave a new path forward. However, the most recent Transformers movies have still largely felt like extensions of Bay's series.
Now is not the right time for a Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover movie since the franchise is still finding its footing in a new era.
Since the most recent Transformers films have remained so connected, both visually and thematically, to Bay's movies, the franchise has not found a new identity. Therefore, now is not the right time for a Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover movie since the franchise is still finding its footing in a new era. It is okay for Transformers movies to technically be set in the same universe as Bay's films, but the franchise needs to do something more unique to prove that a massive Transformers/G.I. Joe crossover movie is warranted.
We Still Don’t Know What The Transformers & G.I. Joe Crossover Will Look Like
Hardly Any Details About The Transformers/G.I. Joe Crossover Have Been Revealed
Bumblebee was actually a surprising critical success, but most critics were underwhelmed by Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. The tease of a G.I. Joe crossover at the end of Rise of the Beasts may have been exciting, but it is important to that the rest of the film was not that impressive. Ever since the release of Rise of the Beasts, practically no details have been revealed about the Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover movie.
Transformers & G.I. Joe Crossover Is About To Make The Transformers Timeline Even More Confusing
The Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover movie is incredibly exciting, but it risks making the former franchise’s timeline more confusing.
Transformers and G.I. Joe are both massive franchises, so there should be a lot more hype about the crossover film than there currently is. After the underwhelming response to Rise of the Beasts, it seems like now is just not the right time to release a Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover movie. It's still possible that the movie will be very successful, but the fact that practically nothing has been revealed about the film hasn't given fans many reasons to be confident about the Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover.
Source: The Numbers
- Created by
- Hasbro
- First Film
- Transformers
- Latest Film
- Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
- Cast
- Frank Welker, Peter Cullen, Corey Burton, John Stephenson, Jack Angel, Michael Bell, Dan Gilvezan, Casey Kasem, Christopher Collins, Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Anthony Ramos
Transformers is a multimedia franchise consisting of movies, TV Shows, video games, and comics. The franchise centers on a race of humanoid robots called the autobots who must protect Earth from the Decepticons. Some of the most popular characters include Megatron, Optimus Prime, and Bumblebee. In 2007, the first live-action movie in the franchise was released starring Shia Labeouf.
