Paramount Pictures in Talks with Akiva Goldsman to Write More ‘Transformers’ Films

Paramount Pictures wants more Transformers. Taking a page from Fox's incubation of three Avatar sequels and what Disney is doing to revive Star Wars with sequels and spinoffs, the studio is negotiating with Akiva Goldsman to work with franchise director Michael Bay, executive producer Steven Spielberg and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura to organize a "writer's room" that will incubate ideas for a potential multi-part Transformers sequel, and come up with potential spinoff films based on the billion-dollar franchise from the Hasbro toy line.

According to a report by Deadline, Goldsman is the Oscar winning writer of A Beautiful Mind. Bay, who has directed all fourTransformers films and most recently helmed Transformers: Age Of Extinction, would like to move forward quickly right after completing his next project, the Benghazi siege drama 13 Hours. He'd like to have something hammered out when production is completed for 13 Hours.

This is a major priority for new Motion Picture Group president Marc Evans, who's tasked with getting more movies made. It marks an intriguing new step as studios put even more of a premium on the care and feeding of tent pole franchises.

It's not hard to see why Paramount covets more Transformers installments. The most recent, Transformers: Age Of Extinction, grossed nearly $1.1 billion, and became the top grossing release ever in China. And despite gross payouts that included Bay and the film's star Mark Wahlberg, the film still generated $250 million in net profits to Paramount and was named Most Valuable Blockbuster in Deadline's annual breakdown of top domestic grossing tentpole films.