Director Michael Bay has chosen to cast actor Mark Wahlberg instead of Shia LaBeouf as the lead character in "Transformers 4," the latest installment in the movie franchise expected to hit theaters in 2014, according to Bay's representatives.

The director and actor worked together recently on the action comedy "Pain and Gain" and Bay expressed his excitement about getting the Academy Award nominee to sign in for the new "Transformers" film.

"Mark is awesome. We had a blast working on 'Pain and Gain' and I'm so fired up to be back working with him. An actor of his caliber is the perfect guy to re-invigorate the franchise and carry on the Transformers' legacy," said Bay, according to his website.

From Paramount Pictures, in association with Hasbro, the film will be produced by Don Murphy & Tom DeSanto, Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Ian Bryce, and executive produced by Steven Spielberg, Bay, Brian Goldner and Mark Vahradian. Shooting will begin next spring and the film is set to be released on June 27, 2014, according to the Michaelbay.com.

The past two "Transformers" films brought LeBeouf much recognition and is bound to do the same for Wahlberg. Megan Fox starred in the first two films of the installment but was then replaced in the third film, "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," by actress and model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. It has not been confirmed yet whether Whiteley will return for the fourth installment.

To date, the "Transformers" franchise has earned more than $2.6 billion worldwide, with the third installment being the highest grossed film out of the three already to hit theatres. "Dark of the Moon" also became the fifth highest grossing film of all time."

It is not uncommon for actors who have established themselves in a role to move on to other projects and get replaced. One such instance was the switch from Matt Damon to Jeremy Renner in "The Bourne Legacy."

LeBeouf is also reportedly not upset about the switch. He told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview that he would like to make more low-budget independent films.

"There's no room for being a visionary in the studio system. It literally cannot exist," he said.