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Tuesday
16Dec2008

'Transformers 3' Gets a Release Date? Already?

DateTuesday, December 16, 2008 at 1:28PM
Mark your calendars for summer 2011. According to Dark Horizons, citing a German release schedule, Transformers 3 will hit theaters on June 29th of that year.

There are two things to consider here: First, the likelihood that the third film has already been greenlit is slim. With the DreamWorks/Paramount divorce, a troubled economy, and a film from an unproven franchise, that is probably a loose target rather than an ironclad, definite event.

What do I mean by an unproven franchise? Well, clearly the first movie did phenomenal business, and there's every reason to suspect the sequel will, too. But look at Prince Caspian. Look at X-Files. Look at Hellboy II or Traveling Pants 2 or Transporter 3 or the greatly diminished returns on the third Mummy movie.

The point is, you just never know. Money's tight, and the studio(s) and Spielberg would probably wait for the box office returns on the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen before they move ahead on the third one. I'm also working under the assumption that, like most sequels, Revenge of the Fallen cost more to make than the first film, so that means it needs to make at least as much ($700 million worldwide) to be considered a step in the right direction.

Of course, with Michael Bay directing, it could be absolutely terrible, have a big pop on opening weekend and only make $200 million in the U.S. and a little more than that overseas. Then what?

The second thing to consider is whether or not Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox would want to come back. Big money, true, but Shia can command big money anywhere right now. And by 2011, unless something unexpected happens, Megan Fox will hardly be less sexy. So, again, she can probably find other things to do. So does the series need them? It probably needs at least one of them, or can you name a trilogy that landed on its feet in the third installment without the big stars?

This is all way premature, but then again, TRON already has a trailer for its 2011 sequel. But the two-year gap for a third Transformers fits what they're doing for the sequel, and with the way Marvel is throwing release dates around through 2012, you might as well call dibs while you can.

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AuthorColin Boyd | | in , , , , , , | Print ArticlePrint Article | | Comment2 Comments |

Reader Comments (2)

From what I was told 2 and 3 were actually shot (at least partially) back to back. We shot a film in VA back in the spring and a bunch of our crew went to go work on the Transformers live action parts immediately after. Then again, it wouldn't be the first time crew members weren't getting reliable information on set.

Thursday, December 18, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterAdam

Oi, Hellboy 2, Prince Caspian and Transporter 3 are awsome, get your facts straight or actually go to the movies for a change mate.

Saturday, December 20, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterEnglishGavz!

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