"What happens next? Certainly not a reboot. We haven't lost the Transformers. They didn't grow up or become expensive like Toby Maguire. I don't know what happens next. I'm pretty sure there will be a second trilogy. I am pretty sure it will kick ass. And I am pretty sure some of you will hate it because it wasn't all bots."

That is what Don Murphy had to say when asked "what happens now with the Transformers franchise.  You can read the post here, but you have to log in.

Don Murphy posted the following on his message board yesterday.

Hey Stooges-

Remember when we would do Sunday Postings EVERY Sunday? I wouldn’t say those were the “good ol’ days” because we had people like Reggie and Bowspearer here stirring up jive. Nowadays though we’re lucky if we get a Sunday Posting every 4 months. But I am proud of what we have built here, a community of maniacs who love movies and love the movie making process. DM.net is one part Wikipedia army, one part Transformers collectors extraordinaires, one part friends I have made and twelve parts lunatics arguing about film piracy and Polanski’s butt piracy. And I would not have it any way! Love and thanks to each and every one of you.

? SPLICE has opened in the US to some of the best reviews of the season. It is a pretty hugged up movie. The box office totals could have been higher, but this seems to be the summer of no movie going. Oh well. Fact is, the other three movies that opened against us are on track to lose money, and Splice, made for only $27m with a lot of tax rebates on top has already made money. The reason Susan and Guillermo and I got involved in Splice in the first place was the vision of Vincenzo Natali. He is a major talent and THE nicest person who ever walked the earth. His CUBE rocks the house. We wanted to bring him “back” and help get his career back on track. SPLICE does that and more. In addition, we got to work with Joel Silver, Andrew Rona and the amazing Warners marketing team. They were amazing, hard working, talented and a joy to watch. The whole SPLICE story has been a Cinderella story we are all extremely proud of. Check it out when you can!

? TRANSFORMERS 3 is starting its third week of shooting. As you guys know, everything on this movie is super top secret., but it is going very well and I think you will all be stoked to see old favorites and new characters coming at ya. You know I liked the second film a lot- that said the new screenplay brings back the sense of awe and wonder that made the first film so exciting and special. It’s a shame that Megan didn’t work out but with what Michael has planned you won’t miss her. There is still a hell of a lot of shooting to go and you don’t need me the way you guys dig up clues and jive- suffice it to say NEXT Fourth of July you guys will be excited again. I personally can’t wait.

? REAL STEEL- Boxing Robots. The great Hugh Jackman. Evangeline “Lost” Lilly. A great little cute kid. The talented director behind the Nights at the Museum. Steven Spielber presents. Short story by Richard Matheson from the Twilight Zone. Susan and Don producing. ColdasIce working on the staff. What more do you want? A Thanksgiving 2011 release? Done. Robots fighting to the death? Done. Toys and videogames? jive yeah. The VFX team from AVATAR? Oh yes! I hear you- when does this start shooting? NEXT WEEK!

? Upcoming news… so much to tell y’all, but not ready yet. Guillermo back in LA and ready to work… Susan and Don marching to conquer TV and doing four deals in two months (Huzzah!)… a big 80s Franchise that will make you smile… a Sci fi classic redone with modern FX…

Life is Good. Be kind to one another, be rough to our enemies and enjoy films. Remember- It isn’t true till you see it on the screen!

Don Murphy
Under Dust
June 6, 2010 A.D.

In a post on his message board Michael Bay has shot down the Transformers 2 Audition list posted by Don Murphy over on his message board as being fake and part of the disinformation campaign.

In Michael's own words "Sorry everyone, everything you are reading (other then we are shooting in Philly) is false. We are going to give so much disinformation on this film to confuse everyone".

Is this a case of a double bluff? Time will tell, but its sure to cause more heated discussions around the Transformers and film community

In a post over on Don Murphy's message board, Robert Orci has posted an apology regarding how the writers strike may affect the second Transformers Movie;

"How are you?

As you know, all screenwriters are engaged in a labor dispute with the major studios and media conglomerates that subsidize much, but not all of the media content that we consume. It may go on for a very long time. All the other writers I've talked to on every level are ready to hold out FOREVER, all the while figuring out ways to make a living out of the internet without studios.

So now the hard part for me and Alex and Ehren and all fans of Transformers is that the movie may suffer (unless of course you hate the first one so much that you feel our inattention is a bonus). It may be pushed back or a host of other thing may happen to it. For that we apologize truly.

will keep you posted..."

Credit to Seibertron for the report.

In a post over on his official message board, Don Murphy comments on one of the reasons behind why there has been little news on the expected Transformers Movie 2 film and how it relates to an expected strike in May 2008.

"For those of you most anxious about TRANSFORMERS 2, the silence you hear is primarily because people are fretting about a presumed strike in June 2008. Will it happen? I don’t know- does the public care about strikes anymore in this day and age? What do rich people have to strike about anyway? I don’t have any side here ( you hear about the writers and the Producers but that actually means the STUDIOS) I just think stopping work is kind of pointless. But since no one wants to be filming IF a strike happens, everything needs to be done filming by the end of May 2008. So this is affecting the lack of news about Transformers 2 at least for now. Stay tuned."

• The cut screened for the studio last week. I am up in the rain so I missed it. The studio is excited. This blockbuster continues to show just HOW big it will be. You will believe a robot from space can kick ass. Here are the answers to all the questions I get on this one-
• No decision from Michael about Welker yet. Honestly I don't know how that is going to turn out. I know that I am on the record as wanting Frank. I know that the fans have made it clear that it must be Frank. I don't think it would be ludicrous to have him. But it is Michael's call.
• No I won't be with Skorponok at the Vegas ShowWest. It will be fun to hear about what a great idea he thought Transfomers was since he wasn't involved with it from the beginning. I don't know if anyone noticed a previous interview I did, but let's repeat it- EVERY studio passed on this movie. EVERY STUDIO. Only after that happened did all of a sudden interest reappear. The only people who KNEW this was going to be huge were Tom Desanto and that guy with the goofy picture above. Believe it as you hear about history being rewritten. Or ask Skorpy about it yourself. In the meantime Shia will be there too. He is a GREAT GREAT guy. Hi Five him for me if you are there.
• Yes there will be another trailer with more details. Probably at the start of the summer season. But you can watch the one we have a few more times if you want to. It is still on line.