The latest development relating to Transformers 5 has to do with Mark Wahlberg strongly hinting at the fact that Michael Bay will be directing the movie.

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In an interview with Collider, Wahlberg was specifically asked if he had any details on the development of the film. The actor stated that he didn't know much, but inadvertently slipped that Bay is very much on board, despite all the rumors about him ditching the franchise that had been swirling about.

"I don't. Just that Akiva [Goldsman] and those guys are starting to write and break stories, and stuff like that," he said. "But [Michael] Bay is in Malta shooting Benghazi, and I'm in New Orleans shooting Deepwater. We'll get together when he gets back."

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Meanwhile, the writers team for the Transformers 5 and its sequels has been expanding and the producers have enlisted some heavyweights.

The team will be led by Goldsman, and features Christina Hodson (The Fugitive), Lindsey Beer (Dig), Zak Penn (The Incredible Hulk), Jeff Pinker (Lost), Art Marcum and Matt Holloway (Iron Man), Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead), Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari (Ant-Man), Ken Nolan (Black Hawk Down) and Geneva Robertson-Dworet.

Brian Goldner, CEO of Hasbro, revealed that the movie was aiming for a 2017 release.

Along with these reports, Bay's involvement was highlighted and it was revealed that he would be collaborating with Akiva Goldsman and a bunch of new writers. According to Deadline the writers will be brainstorming about ideas not only for the fifth installment but possible multi-part sequels and spin-offs. Bay, whose next project, a movie based on the book, Thirteen Hours: A Firsthand Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi by Mitchell Zuckoff, hopes to get cracking on Transformers 5 right after he is done. The director would like the script and screenplay to be worked out by then so no time is wasted.

Other than Bay's supposed exit, there had been all kinds of rumors about Wahlberg not returning for the sequel to Age of Extinction. In an interview with MTV, Wahlberg put that speculation to rest by confirming that he was very much returning for Transformers 5. The actor also hinted that production would begin soon in the same interview.

Little can be said about the plot right now as the writers are only just starting work on it. But Peter Cullen, the voice of Optimus Prime, has reportedly requested the producers of Transformers to go back to the drift of the series before Age of Extinction. This has set off a rumor about the next installment rewinding, and straying from the plot of Age of Extinction. Only time will tell if the producers will actually take action and consider Cullen's advice.

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

Watch the trailer for the movie here: