Steven Spielberg easily ranks as one of the best filmmakers of all time. Aside from his commercial success and critical acclaim, what makes Spielberg’s filmography so special is that the filmmaker has a penchant for creating some of the most popular franchises. His list of blockbuster franchises includes the likes of Jaws, Indiana Jones, and Jurassic Park.
During an interview, Spielberg was asked about his uncanny track record with creating franchises, seemingly out of thin air. In response, Spielberg cited one $5.2 billion franchise as an example of his keen eye for franchise potential, but also implied his children must be impressed with the IP beforehand. Here is what Spielberg had to say about his penchant for franchise creation.
Steven Spielberg Talks Creating the Transformers Franchise to Impress His Children
Steven Spielberg has produced some of the most iconic franchises in cinema. However, one of his more off-beat ventures has been the Transformers franchise. The first live-action installment in the franchise was co-produced by Spielberg’s DreamWorks Pictures and released in 2007.
The filmmaker served as an executive producer on the film and shed some light on how the project materialized during an interview with Entertainment Weekly. Spielberg revealed that he enjoyed buying the Transformers toys for his children and would end up spending hours playing with them.
I called up the head of Hasbro and I said, Will you sell me the rights to Transformers? I think I have a way of turning this into a motion picture.
Spielberg made the above statement by explaining how his experience with the toys prompted him to acquire the film rights to the Hasbro toy line. However, Spielberg’s words also implied that it was his children’s love for the toys that made him familiar with the IP in the first place.
Ultimately, it is safe to say that Spielberg ended up creating the Transformers franchise because his children were impressed with the toys. The Transformers franchise has grossed over $5.2 billion across the globe, once again proving Spielberg’s penchant for franchise filmmaking.
Steven Spielberg Praised Michael Bay For Cracking the Transformers Formula
During the same interview, Spielberg also spoke about director Michael Bay‘s work on the Transformers franchise. Spielberg had himself offered the job to direct the first Transformers movie to Bay, and the latter accepted after some initial doubts. However, Transformers went on to become one of Bay’s most popular projects.
In the interview, Spielberg expressed hope for Bay to make another movie in the franchise, after 2011’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Spielberg considered the third installment the best entry in the franchise and praised Bay in the following words:
I think he made the best of the three with this last one. I certainly can’t imagine anybody other than Michael being equipped to make another Transformers. He’s invented a genre, and he’s got the secret formula.
Bay went on to direct two further entries in the beloved franchise. However, critical and fan reception of the later installment dwindled alongside below-par box office numbers.
As a result, the franchise parted ways with Bay, with 2017’s Transformers: The Last Knight being the director’s last film to date. The franchise’s next step will be a crossover with Hasbro’s G.I. Joe franchise, which was formally announced at CinemaCon 2024.
The Transformers movies are streaming on Paramount+.
