The next film in the the box office disappointment indicated it was time for a new direction for the Autobots and Decepticons.

That new direction came in the guise of Bumblebee was only a modest box office performer, it garnered rave reviews from critics and audiences alike and seemed a natural starting point for a new iteration of the story. But producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura seemingly threw some uncertainty on the franchise's future, recently commenting that the studio had several different ideas for the next entry in series, possibly even one that follows the events of Transformers: The Last Knight.

Related: Exclusive: Watch This New Deleted Scene From Bumblebee

Things have apparently changed. In a new interview with Slash Film, di Bonaventura clarifies that the next Transformers film will not be connected to Bay's quintet of movies, and further stresses that Bay has left the franchise behind.

Optimus Prime and Bumblebee Look At Earth

This shouldn't be surprising news. Paramount and Hasbro are on the record as being conflicting information on the franchise's direction virtually every time he gives an interview.

Even if we know what the next film won't be, we still have very little sense of what it will be. Most reports have suggested the next live-action film will serve as a direct sequel to Bumblebee, possibly framed as a sort of buddy cop film between the titular Autobot and Optimus Prime. There's been no official confirmation that Hailee Steinfeld will return as Charlie Watson, but it would seem a safe bet the studio will be eager to bring her back into the fold. Similarly, Travis Knight has made no concrete announcements about returning, though he has suggested he has ideas for further stories. There's also an animated film set on Cybertron in development, and even the idea of a Beast Wars film has been discussed. There are plenty of possibilities on the horizon for the Transformers, but it seems the days of robot Bayhem are officially behind us.

Next: 8 Things Bumblebee Did Better Than Other Transformers Movies (& 2 The Others Did Better)

Source: Slash Film