Director Michael Bay is now best known for spearheading the Transformers movie franchise and turning it into a four-billion-dollar series. But despite these box office hits, not everybody loves the franchise, and while doing press junkets for his new film, Ambulance, the director revealed that it was actually Steven Spielberg who told Bay to stop making them.
It's thanks to Spielberg that Bay made much more interesting films like 6 Underground and Ambulance. But Bay still did a great job of creating a giant movie series, and other franchises in dire straits could use his services. He might not be the most beloved director in the world, few filmmakers are as good at working on a huge scale, and these franchises would be much better if Bay was behind the camera.
G.I. Joe
The G.I. Joe movie franchise has struggled to get off the ground several times at this point. Despite Rise of the Cobra massively underperforming, Paramount Pictures still greenlit a sequel. But even with Dwayne Johnson and Bruce Willis being introduced into the series, Retaliation still failed to find the audience Paramount was looking for. And most recently, Snake Eyes failed to even make back half of its budget.
If anybody knows how to turn a movie franchise based on toys into a successful, billion-dollar-grossing series, it's Bay. One of the big problems of the G.I. Joe movies is how isolated and confined the action is, often relying too heavily on shaky-cam. But Bay isn't afraid to dream bigger, and he could inject those large-scale action sequences and set pieces into a popcorn hit that the series so desperately needs.
Underworld
The Underworld series is a little darker than what typical Bay fare, but fans often forget that the first Bad Boys was actually very dark in tone. And the gothic club that was the setting for a typical Bay shoot-out is exactly the aesthetic that the first Underworld movie had.
On top of that, the Underworld movies got more action-oriented with each consecutive release, and that was also its downfall, so an action-focused director is what the sequels needed more than anything. As Underworld and its sequels exclusively take place at night, it'd be hard to get the shot of helicopters flying in front of the sunset that Bay loves so much. But that's a small price to pay for a sexy, blood-sucking action movie that would see the director at his best.
Men In Black
In its current form, Men in Black has very much run its course, and many would argue that there hasn't been a good movie in the franchise ever since the original in 1997. And the funniest thing in the latest Men in Black: International is a reference to a whole other franchise, as Chris Hemsworth's character wields a hammer, just like he does as Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The MIB franchise has never taken itself too seriously, and it's a perfect balance of comedy and action, just like Bay's best movies. Based on the way International attempted to make the series feel more like a superhero-like blockbuster, Bay could bring it back to its roots and make the best MIB movie since the first one.
Predator
Though Predator 2 is an overlooked horror sequel that deserves a second chance, the franchise has gone from one failure to another. Whether it's Predator vs. Alien or the most recently released The Predator, fans of the series have been disappointed too many times.
Like Underworld, a Predator movie might not immediately jump out as an entry that would fit in with the rest of Bay's filmography. But the original movie in the series is so action-packed, helicopter-filled, and soaked in bravado and machoism, and nobody does those things better than Bay. However, there's another Predator movie on the horizon, Prey, which seems like it could be a fresh start for the series. The film is a prequel, set in the 1700s, and directed by Dan Trachtenberg, who helmed 10 Cloverfield Lane.
Pirates Of The Caribbean
Pirates of the Caribbean has not one but two new movies in development, both of which are reboots and will star Margot Robbie. And though it's unlikely that either one of them will be directed by Bay, there's nothing more exciting than imagining a pirate-themed action movie from the director.
The Pirates series often got bogged down in its convoluted lore, and while most of the movies in the franchise had great premises, Bay could strip all of the unnecessary exposition and messy subplots. The movie could simply be two hours of Jack Sparrow running around and Bay could make it entertaining. And the filmmaker would have a field day creating huge explosions with the cannons on the Navy ships.
The Terminator
Though some Terminator fans would be critical of Bay taking over the series, as he's known for dumbing down plots, the sci-fi series has been on a downward spiral since Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. The most recent movie, Dark Fate, might be the best Terminator movie since Terminator 2: Judgement Day, but that doesn't mean much.
Bay is clearly a big fan of Judgement Day, as the second movie in the franchise is famous for its epic chase scene on the L.A. River, and exactly that can be found in the director's new movie, Ambulance. The first two Terminator movies are incredible sci-fi action blockbusters, and that's something Bay knows how to direct better than most.
James Bond
There's a theory that The Rock is a James Bond movie, as Sean Connery stars in the former as John Mason. John Mason is a fake identity, the character is a former British Intelligence agent, and he never reveals his true identity, so it could be that Bay has already secretly directed a Bond flick.
And it just goes to show that the director could have made the spy franchise better in the 1990s, as The Rock is better than any 007 movie from that era. Now Daniel Craig's Bond era has come to an end, Bay could take the franchise back into a more lighthearted and fun direction after the dour and serious last few films.
The Mummy
While 1999's The Mummy is a fun, campy adventure movie, the kind they don't make anymore, and The Mummy Returns is something of a guilty pleasure, the series has had far from the best trajectory. The Scorpion King and the long-forgotten threequel are the worst directions the franchise could have gone in, and the Tom Cruise-starring reboot was the final nail in the coffin.
Universal abandoned the Dark Universe before it even got off the ground, as the 2017 reboot was planned to be the start of a cinematic universe that included Frankenstein's Monster, the Wolfman, and others. If the reboot was in the hands of Michael Bay, it would have been a supernatural action epic, and it would have had three more movies in the franchise by now.
Ghost Rider
It comes as a huge surprise that Nicolas Cage and Bay have only collaborated once, as the theatrical and over-the-top actor and the bombastic director seem made for each other. Cage even went on to star in movies like Con Air, which were clearly influenced by Bay. And in 2007, Cage starred in Ghost Rider, which is about a biker who turns into a flaming skeleton.
Fans of the comic book source material thought the film and its sequel left a lot to be desired, to say the least. But Cage naturally acting uncaged is the one great takeaway from the series, and Bay and the actor could reunite for a soft reboot. Though the likelihood of that happening is low, fans might get to see Cage as Johnny Blaze one more time. There's a rumor that Cage will cameo in Doctor Strange 2.
Fast And Furious
There are already strands of Bay's DNA in the Fast and Furious franchise, whether it's the machoism of the first movie, the scantily-clad Miami residents of 2 Fast 2 Furious, or the epic set pieces of Fast and Furious 6. And though Justin Lin turned the series into the high-octane blockbuster franchise it is today, his work on F9 led to the series' worst reviews yet.
Even die-hard fans of the franchise thought that Han coming back to life and Rome going into space was ridiculous. Fast & Furious hit its peak in the middle of its lifespan, when the movies were full of train heists and epic chase sequences, and Bay could bring the series back to that era and make the best Fast movie ever.