'Transformers 4' Will Be Michael Bay's Last (Really); Features All-New Cast

I'd like to take this moment to apologize to Josh Duhamel. Earlier this year, he said he didn't think any of the cast from the previous three Transformers films would return for Transformers 4, and I cast aspersions on his comment. Actors are usually the last to know what's up with a film in development, after all, and so how would he know who would be back and who wouldn't?

Turns out Duhamel might have been right. In a new piece that mentions Michael Bay's fourth movie about robots in disguise, there's a note that the film will feature an all-new cast.

To recap, in February Duhamel said,

I don't think anybody's doing it. I know Shia [LaBeouf]'s not doing it. I don't think Tyrese or Rosie [Huntington-Whiteley] or anybody else is doing it... Whenever these movies make that much money they're going to make as many as they can. [But] I haven't heard anything about it.

In a piece dedicated mostly to the new Transformers theme park ride, the LA Times does paraphrase Bay talking about the fourth film. There are no direct quotes, but the LAT says,

The director, by the way, says that the fourth film will include some redesign of the robots and an entirely new cast. He also said it will be his last and set the franchise up "for the next guy."

Setting the franchise up for someone else isn't a surprise, as there's no reason to think that the companies involved will want to drop Transformers any time soon. Robot redesigns also aren't much of a shock, as that has happened from film to film. But the entirely new cast is a big confirmation, especially for those who were ready to throw out a quick and well-practiced "NonononoNO!" at the idea of Shia LaBeouf's return.