Transformers: Age of Extinction
Transformers: Age of Extinction is a 2014 American science fiction action film based on Hasbro's Transformers toy line. It is the sequel to Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) and the fourth installment in the Transformers film series. Like its predecessor, the film is directed by Michael Bay and written by Ehren Kruger. It stars Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Kelsey Grammer, Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor, Sophia Myles, Bingbing Li, Titus Welliver, and T.J. Miller. It does not feature the original human cast from the previous three films, and instead introduces a new human cast and many new Transformers, including the Dinobots. A struggling inventor and single-father discovers a damaged truck, which turns out to be a Transformer in disguise.
It was released in the United States on June 27, 2014, by Paramount Pictures.[3] The film received generally negative reviews from critics for its runtime and direction, and grossed over $1.104 billion worldwide against a $210 million production budget, making it the highest-grossing film of 2014, the only film in 2014 to gross over $1 billion, and the tenth-highest-grossing film of all time at the time of its release. It was followed by Transformers: The Last Knight in 2017.
Plot
Sixty-five million years ago, an alien race known as the "Creators" used devices called Seeds to cover Earth with a metallic alloy called "Transformium", wiping out the dinosaurs in the process. In the present day, geologist Darcy Tirrel excavates the Transformium for K.S.I. Industries, use it to build Transformer drones.
In the years after the Battle of Chicago,[a] humans view Transformers as hostile and terminate all joint operations with them. Though the public believes that the Autobots were granted sanctuary, they are hunted down by a rogue CIA black ops division, Cemetery Wind, led by opportunistic, rogue intelligence operative Harold Attinger, who believes that all Transformers are dangerous and must be destroyed. Lockdown, a Cybertronian assassin and bounty hunter working for the Creators, is tasked to find Optimus Prime. In exchange, he gives Attinger a Seed if his division manages to capture Optimus. Lockdown locates and kills Ratchet when he refuses to give up Optimus's location.
Optimus, badly damaged in Mexico City, hides in Texas and is discovered by Cade Yeager, a financially struggling inventor and a single father. While his teenage daughter Tessa and business partner Lucas Flannery encourage him to turn Optimus over to the authorities, Cade instead fixes Optimus. Hoping to collect an advertised reward, Lucas alerts the authorities, and James Savoy, Attinger's field commanding operative, attacks the Yeager farm, but Optimus, and Tessa's secret boyfriend, Irish rally car driver Shane Dyson, rescue the family. During the pursuit, Lucas is killed by one of Lockdown's grenades. Optimus summons the surviving Autobots – Bumblebee, Hound, Drift, and Crosshairs. Using a stolen CIA drone, Cade discovers K.S.I.'s involvement with Cemetery Wind and the attacks on the Autobots.
Infiltrating K.S.I.'s headquarters in Chicago, Cade discovers the dead Autobots and Decepticons being melted down to make Transformer drones. The K.S.I. CEO, Joshua Joyce, is in league with Attinger to revolutionize global defenses and improve human society using the Seed to make more Transformium. He has also used the captured Brains and Megatron's head to create prototype Transformer soldiers, Galvatron and Stinger. The Autobots storm the building and destroy the laboratory, but they soon leave after Joshua declares that they don't need them anymore. Attinger forces Joshua to deploy Galvatron and Stinger to capture the Autobots. During the battle, Galvatron's behavior becomes erratic. As Galvatron battles Optimus, he gets autonomously freed from control. Suddenly, Lockdown arrives and abducts both Optimus and Tessa while Galvatron retreats.
While Lockdown's large prison spacecraft hovers over Chicago to hand over the Seed, Cade, Shane, and the Autobots sneak on board to rescue Optimus and Tessa. They hijack a smaller ship, containing other Transformers called the Dinobots, just before Lockdown leaves Earth. The Autobots learn that Galvatron is Megatron reincarnated, plotting to use the Seed and the Transformer drones to conquer the world and that KSI plans to use the Seed in the Mongolian desert to create vast amounts of usable Transformium. Cade informs Joshua, who agrees to hand over the Seed with help from Darcy and his Chinese business associate Su Yueming. Galvatron reactivates himself and takes control of the drones. A battle follows in Hong Kong between the Autobots, Cemetery Wind, and the drones. During the fight, Cade sends Savoy plummeting to his death while Optimus frees the Dinobots and wins their allegiance through trial by combat, becoming essential to the Autobots' victory.
Lockdown returns to recapture Optimus and the Dinobots, using a large magnet to cause destruction. After disabling the magnet, Optimus fights Lockdown. In the ensuing duel, Optimus kills Attinger to save Cade, but the distraction allows Lockdown to pin Optimus down with his sword. Cade ends up fighting Lockdown one-on-one while Tessa and Shane use a tow truck to free Optimus, who kills Lockdown before defeating the remaining drones with Lockdown's grenades. Galvatron retreats, vowing to return. Optimus asks the Autobots to protect the Yeagers while Joshua offers to help them build a new home, before flying away into space with the Seed, sending a message to the Creators that he is coming for them.[b]
Production
Development
During production for Dark of the Moon, Shia LaBeouf and Bay stated that they would not return for a fourth installment of the franchise.[30] Roland Emmerich, Joe Johnston, Jon Turteltaub, Stephen Sommers, Louis Leterrier and David Yates were rumored to replace Bay.[31] Jason Statham was rumored to star in the fourth installment. Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner revealed that he was able to announce the film as he was talking with Steven Spielberg, Bay and Paramount.[32]
There were rumors that the fourth and fifth installment would be shot back-to-back with Statham as the lead role, which he and Bay denied.[33] Spielberg hoped Bay would return for a fourth installment.[34]
After final negotiations with Bay to direct the film,[35] producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura confirmed that there would be a fourth film in the franchise.[36] In February 2012, Paramount Pictures and Michael Bay announced that Bay would be producing and directing a fourth Transformers film, scheduled for a June 27, 2014, release.[37][38] The film will not be a reboot but a sequel to Dark of the Moon,[7] taking place four years later.[39] Ehren Kruger and Steve Jablonsky returned to write the script and the score, respectively.[40] In April 2013, it was announced that China Movie Channel and Jiaflix Enterprises would co-produce the film with Paramount.[41][42][43]
On September 1, 2013, Fusible revealed three possible subtitles for the film, which were Last Stand, Future Cast, and Apocalypse.[44] On September 2, TFW 2005 revealed one last possible title, Age of Extinction.[45] On September 3, 2013, Paramount released an official teaser poster for the film, revealing the title to be Transformers: Age of Extinction.[46]
Casting
In November 2012, Mark Wahlberg was cast in the film.[4] Also in November 2012, The Hollywood Reporter reported that casting had begun for two additional leads: the daughter to Wahlberg's character and her boyfriend, a race car driver. Isabelle Cornish, Nicola Peltz, Gabriella Wilde, and Margaret Qualley were all considered for the role of the daughter, while Luke Grimes, Landon Liboiron, Brenton Thwaites, Jack Reynor, and Hunter Parrish were all considered for the boyfriend. The leads are contracted for three films.[47] In January 2013, Reynor was cast as the boyfriend,[7] and in March 2013, Nicola Peltz was cast as Wahlberg's daughter.[48]
Peter Cullen reprises his role as the voice of Optimus Prime.[19] Glenn Morshower stated in September 2012 that he would appear in the next two films, reprising his role of General Morshower, but Morshower announced in May 2013 that he would not be able to appear in the new films due to a scheduling conflict.[49] In April 2013, Bay revealed that actor Stanley Tucci had joined the cast.[50] On May 1, 2013, actor Kelsey Grammer was cast as the lead human villain named Harold Attinger.[51] On May 6, 2013, actress Sophia Myles was cast in a major role.[10] That same month, Chinese actress Bingbing Li and comedian T. J. Miller joined the cast.[52] On July 14, 2013, Bay announced that Han Geng had joined the cast.[17] That same month, Titus Welliver also joined the cast.[13]
Ahead of the film's release in May 2014, the film's voice cast for the Transformers was announced with actors John Goodman and Ken Watanabe voicing the Autobots, Hound and Drift. Alongside Robert Foxworth and Reno Wilson returning to voice Ratchet and Brains from Dark of the Moon, while Frank Welker reprises his role of Galvatron from The Transformers television series, who was previously voiced by Leonard Nimoy in The Transformers: The Movie, and John DiMaggio, and Mark Ryan in new roles with DiMaggio voicing Crosshairs and Ryan voicing the film's antagonist Lockdown.[53] Nearly nine years since the film's release in May 2023, comedian Ben Schwartz revealed he originally voiced several of Bumblebee's radio clips for the film. He was hired by Bay to come up with some of the radio dialogue for Bumblebee but was changed into radio sounds in the final cut, with the exception that some of his lines were left.[54]