Is Transformers 3 the last for Bay?

There was a rumor back before Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was released, that Michael Bay wouldn’t be returning for the third installment. Obviously that was untrue, but will the third film be it for the director? At a press junket for Salt, Coming Soon talked to producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura about the departure of Megan Fox and whether or not Bay will return for another film.

Bonaventura stated that “it may not be the end of the line of Transformers for Hasbro and Paramount, but I would think so. (For) Michael, I’m sure it is. He’s spent a lot of years working on one thing.” The director was reportedly going to make a “small” film, before Transformers 3, but ended up going straight into the third film. With fans upset with what Bay has done with the series, I can only see them happy with this news. Of course he’s not officially out yet. It wouldn’t be too surprising if the series was rebooted as Bay stated it was the end of a trilogy.

Also, Lorenzo di Bonaventura briefly touched upon the much talked about departure of Megan Fox from the series. What’s been on a lot people’s mind was why Megan Fox left or fired (depending who you ask), even while they had a script ready before she left. The producer states that “It’s one of those things that built to a pressure point.” The studio tried to make things workout, but “it just wasn’t working.” There were from changes done to the script, but “wouldn’t say a tremendous number”. So the question of whether she quit or was fired remains unknown. However, what we do know is that Rosie Huntington-Whiteley has been cast as the new love interest in the film.

Transformers 3 will open in 2-D and 3-D on July 1, 2011.