Transformers 5 Release Date and Cast: Will It be Delayed Until 2017?

Mar 12, 2015 05:59 PM EDT

It is expected that the giant robot franchise of Transformers will live again, just like it did in last year's Transformers: Age of Extinction.  However, Transformers 5 is supposed to come out in 2016, but there hasn't yet been any word on the cast, which would make it difficult to hit the projected release date of June 24, 2016. 

One thing that might push Transformers 5 to a 2017 release date is that there still isn't any clear word on the cast.  Considering that a Transformers movie is practically 50 percent animation, then shooting of the film has to begin soon.  Otherwise, the computer generated robots cannot be added in later, which is a very time-consuming process.  So far, we only have confirmation of Mark Wahlberg, according to Enstarz. 

The producers and Paramount apparently wanted a 2016 Transformers film, and apparently wanted to have a new film come out every two years.  Since Michael Bay is not going to be taking the director's helm here, this means that someone else will have to take up the reigns.  It will probably be the director of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Jonathan Liebesman, and he had better not take too long to adapt to the Transformers director learning curve, or the delay until 2017 will most certainly take place. 

As of now, that rumor keeps growing of the delay, and it has been carried by Flickering Myth as well as Master Herald.  Still, there isn't much more known about the fifth installment of the giant robot franchise. 

There are still rumors going on about bringing aboard Bruce Willis and Dwayne Johnson and creating a G.I. Joe and Transformers crossover film.  Considering that Hasbro owns the rights to both franchises, it could be a potential box-office draw.  However, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, the producer of the Transformers, has stated in an interview that this crossover was "not a realistic proposition, at least not in the near future". 

His official comment appeared on Enstarz as Bonaventura said:  "It's not something we talk about either. There's a lot more story to be told in both cases. And I think if at some moment we think, 'You know what? It's time to bring the two of them together, 'we'll do that. But I think they're strong enough to exist on their own."  

This leads to fans wondering what Transformers 5 could possibly be out.  Perhaps at the end of Transformers 4, when Optimus Prime blasts off into space, is meant to be a set-up for Prime to arrive on Cybertron in Transformers 5.  If so, then he'll probably go after the creators of the Autobots and Decepticons, who are the 5-faced Quintessons from the animated series.  This could lead to some very interesting computer-generated graphics, but not much human interaction. 

We know that the studio wants to put out a new Transformers movie every two years, which was the gap for the first three films.  A delay could move Transformers 5 release date from 2016 to 2017. What do you want to see in Transformers 5?  Leave us a comment below.