Michael Bay plans 4th Transformers film

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Director Michael Bay plans a fresh take on shape-shifting robots with the fourth installment in his Transformers franchise.

Paramount Pictures announced on Monday night that Bay will return to direct the next chapter in the blockbuster sci-fi series, due in theaters June 29, 2014.

Bay’s third movie based on the Hasbro toy line, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, came out last summer and took in $1.1B worldwide.

The studio’s announcement said the next Transformers will be a new take — which probably is necessary since star Shia LaBeouf said last summer that he would not return for a fourth movie. Bay’s production team will be back, though, including Steven Spielberg as exec.