The legendary horror writer had little patience for Michael Bay’s take on the Hasbro toys.
Stephen King is one of the most celebrated horror authors of all time, and many of his books have been turned into classic films. From “Stand By Me” and “The Shawshank Redemption” to “Carrie” and “Misery,” King has been an almost constant presence at the multiplex since he began publishing books in the 1970s. King is also unafraid to share his strong opinions about movies, famously distancing himself from Stanley Kubrick’s beloved adaptation of his novel “The Shining” for years. His Twitter account has long been a hotbed of the author’s pop culture takes, and this week, he turned his attention to one of Hollywood’s most polarizing franchises: Michael Bay’s “Transformers” movies.
“I have walked out of only one movie as an adult: ‘Transformers.’” King tweeted. And in case there was any doubt about which “Transformers” flick he was referring to, the author later specified “Michael Bay. The first one.”
While Stephen King’s words for Michael Bay were harsh, it’s possible that Bay doesn’t entirely disagree with the “Shawshank Redemption” author. Bay recently opened up about some of the franchise’s failures, saying he wished he would have walked away from the series after directing “Transformers: Dark of the Moon.”
“I made too many of them,” Bay said. “Steven Spielberg said, ‘Just stop at three.’ And I said I’d stop. The studio begged me to do a fourth, and then that made a billion, too. And then I said I’m gonna stop here. And they begged me again. I should have stopped. [But] they were fun to do.”
While Bay eventually heeded Spielberg’s advice and stepped away from directing “Transformers” movies, the franchise appears to be doing just fine without him. Paramount plans to launch another trilogy starting with “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,” which is set to hit theaters in 2023. That film is set to star Ron Perlman, Anthony Ramos, Peter Cullen, Luna Lauren Velez, Dominique Fishback, and Frank Marrs.
While it remains to be seen if the series still possesses the same box office power it once did, it’s safe to assume Stephen King will not be buying a ticket.
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