While there isn't absolute certainty about Michael Bay ditching Transformers 5, he pretty clearly stated he would moving on to other things in an interview earlier this year. But he never really gave a reason for why he was abandoning the franchise, which he has stuck by from day one.

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On August 11, IndieWire reported that Bay had hinted at the fact that he might not be as keen on directing the sequel to Age of Extinction. The revelation came from an MTV interview, the director did just after wrapping work on Transformers 4. "There's a lot that's unexplored, but that's for the next director to figure out," he said.

Bay also went on to talk about how tough it was working on the series and it took a lot of time and effort.

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"They're hard movies to do and it takes every day for two years. They're fun, but they're hard," he said.

There had been plenty speculation about Bay not coming on board for the next movie, including talk of him only agreeing to direct Transformers 5 on the condition that the producers allow him to direct a smaller, passion project, like Pain and Gain last year, before working on the mega blockbuster franchise.

"There's kind of a new chapter, a new direction in movies I want to make," Bay said. "I have a lot of stories to tell. And it's about flexing new muscles."

But there could be other more compelling reasons for Bay divorcing frmo the franchise. We speculate it might have had something to do with Transformers 4: Age of Extinction being a massive critical failure. The movie might have done tremendously well at the box office, but it was consistently panned by critics. Most recently a hilarious honest trailer calling the movie a "Michael Bay crap fest."

The next director will sure have large shoes to fill -- box office success-wise.

Transformers: Age of Extinction hit theaters on June 27, 2014.

Watch a clip featuring the dinobots here:

Tags: Transformers 5 Transformers 4: Age of Extinction