'Transformers' Franchise Reboot Rumors: Hasbro Provides Vague Response

By Janna Dela Cruz, Christian Post Contributor Tuesday, February 20, 2018

There have been reports that after the decline in sales performance, the "Transformers" series will be reset.

However, Hasbro brand manager Jeremy Konrad appears to have refuted these reports. As media outlets point out, he was not straightforward in debunking the rumor, only addressing the buzz by saying, "Don't believe what you hear, don't worry."

Interestingly, a representative of Hasbro told IGN in a statement that it might be a while before a new "Transformers" movie comes out after "Bumblebee," which will hit the theaters later this year.

He said that they are "working with the new Paramount leadership team to lay out the future" of the "Transformers" franchise, which means that 2019 will be free of any movie from the universe.

Before this, "Transformers 6," which was supposed to be the follow-up to last year's "Transformers: The Last Knight" was removed from Paramount's upcoming movie slate. It was set for release June 2019.

The statement suggests that Hasbro is seriously rethinking what to do with the series after the latest installment in the franchise underperformed, making it the lowest-grossing film in the franchise at $605 million.

While the first "Transformers" films did well, the latter ones failed to match that success. "Transformers: The Last Knight" may have been the last straw.

The film was not a hit with the critics either as it has become the worst reviewed film in the series on Rotten Tomatoes, netting a lot of negative reviews. It was also a big winner at the 38th Golden Raspberry Awards where it was nominated for Worst Picture, among many others.

Konrad's statement is admittedly not crystal-clear, and Bleeding Cool speculates that they responded to the reboot rumors that way deliberately because they do not want to drop the ball before the release of "Bumblebee" movie.

If anything, major announcements or confirmation might about the fate of "Transformers" might not be made until next year. To some, it might be a good idea to start the franchise all over especially with the recent films getting poor reviews.