Steven Spielberg is returning to the “Transformers” franchise he helped launch nearly two decades ago, and he is bringing Michael Bay along with him. Paramount confirmed this week that Bay is in talks to direct the next live-action installment, while Spielberg steps back into a hands-on executive producer role overseeing the series’ creative direction.

Spielberg co-led the creative side of the original 2007 “Transformers” and its 2009 sequel, “Revenge of the Fallen,” before stepping back from later entries in the franchise. He will now work alongside longtime producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura to shape what insiders are calling the eighth live-action film in the series, according to reporting from Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter.

Bay, who directed the first five “Transformers” movies before leaving the franchise after 2017’s “Transformers: The Last Knight,” is said to have grown interested in returning only after reading a new script draft by Jason Fuchs, the writer behind HBO’s “It: Welcome to Derry,” and meeting with Spielberg to discuss the project’s direction, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Paramount has not yet finalized a deal with Bay, and the studio has offered no plot details beyond confirming the new film will be set in the present day.

The move comes as Paramount’s new leadership looks to reinvigorate one of its most lucrative properties. Co-chairs Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg reportedly made courting Spielberg one of their first priorities following Skydance’s merger with Paramount, sitting down with the director to pitch a bigger creative role, TheWrap reported. The new “Transformers” film is expected to be among the first major projects greenlit under Paramount’s reshaped leadership.

Shia LaBeouf, who starred in the first three films, is not expected to return, per TheWrap’s reporting. Di Bonaventura will produce alongside Mark Vahradian, Don Murphy, Tom DeSanto and Hasbro. Separately, Paramount has also tapped screenwriter Derek Connolly to develop a “Transformers” and “G.I. Joe” crossover film, signaling a broader push to expand the robot franchise’s footprint.

The “Transformers” series has long been one of Hollywood’s most dependable box-office draws. The first two films each grossed more than $700 million worldwide, while 2011’s “Dark of the Moon” and 2014’s “Age of Extinction” both crossed the $1 billion mark globally. “The Last Knight” cooled to roughly $600 million in 2017, prompting Paramount to pivot toward spinoffs: 2018’s “Bumblebee” brought in $471 million worldwide on a more modest budget, and 2023’s live-action prequel “Rise of the Beasts” added more than $440 million, setting up a crossover tease with G.I. Joe in its post-credits scene.

No release date, cast list or full plot synopsis has been announced, and Bay’s involvement remains contingent on a final deal. But the pairing of the franchise’s original creative architects signals Paramount’s clearest signal yet that it intends to treat “Transformers” as a flagship property once again, rather than a dormant toy-box brand waiting for its next spinoff.

Sources: Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, TheWrap