Paramount and director Michael Bay will film “Transformers 5” in Detroit, Mich., this summer — and with the production expected to inject $80 million into Michigan’s economy by creating 228 full-time positions, the state will give the studio incentives worth $21 million, it was announced Friday.
Paramount plans to hire 850 cast and crew members for “Transformers 5,” 450 of which will be Michigan residents. Bay also plans to utilize 700 extras during the course of filming, indicating that the new film will be of equal scale with past “Transformers” movies.
Michigan agreed to award Paramount projects $42 million in incentives before the state legislature eliminated film incentive program last July. That agreement was then amended, and half the money that had been ear-marked for those projects will now be set aside solely for “Transformers 5,” with the other half returning to Michigan’s coffers. The state played host to three of the first four films in the franchise, which has grossed $3.7 billion worldwide.
“Michigan has been so welcoming of Michael Bay and the ‘Transformers’ movies over the years and we are thrilled to be returning for this next incredible installment,” Lee Rosenthal, president of physical production at Paramount Pictures, said in a statement.
“Having one of the highest-profile film franchises created in Michigan is a major economic boost and a testament to the talent of the state’s production community,” added Jenell Leonard, commissioner of the Michigan Film & Digital Media Office. “The production and economic investment is now happening sooner rather than later, and obviously, the project is a certainty rather than merely a possibility.”
Mark Wahlberg is set to return for “Transformers 5,” which Paramount will release on June 23, 2017. It is expected to be Bay’s last “Transformers” movie as a director, though he’ll likely remain involved as a producer.
The franchise will continue with a lower-cost “Bumblebee” spinoff slated for June 8, 2018, before another “Transformers” movie arrives on June 28, 2019.