However, while the behind-the-scenes team on the as yet-untitled Transformers sequel looks very familiar, the director will be ditching the likes of Shia LaBeouf, Rosie-Huntington-Whiteley, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro and Tyrese Gibson in favour of a new cast of human characters, which is set to be headed up by Bay's new buddy Mark Wahlberg, star of the forthcoming bodybuilding action comedy Pain and Gain. During an interview with I Am Rogue, Wahlberg has discussed how the casting came about, and what attracted him to the role:
"I had a great experience working with Michael [on Pain and Gain]. We really hit it off. We complement each other so well on set and we took something that was really good and I think we made something special with Pain and Gain. He said to me [on set], 'What do you think about doing a Transformersmovie with me?' I said, 'Well, what do you want me to do? He told me and I said, 'Absolutely!' I think it will be the most challenging role that I’ve played and it’s an opportunity for me to do something extremely different. It’s going to be very different from what the first ones were. I’m excited about it. I talked to Steven Spielberg and I talked to Brian Grazer and I said, 'Don’t worry guys, this is not me taking a paycheck and running with it. This is me trying to… I liked what the guys did with like The Avengers, for instance. When I watched that movie I was not interested in seeing it at all but it was entertaining for me as well as for my kids. I think they did a really good job and we want to do something special with it, so I’m excited about it."
Transformers 4 is currently set to hit cinemas on June 27th, 2014, at which point we'll have seen Wahlberg in a number of upcoming releases, including the crime thriller Broken City, Navy SEALs drama Lone Survivor and graphic novel adaptation 2 Guns. The actor also has several other projects on his slate, including Seth MacFarlane's Ted 2 and the action comedy Good Time Gang.
