Michael Bay Talks "Transformers 3" Story

USA Today recently visited the set of the third "Transformers" movie and Michael Bay revealed several new tidbits on the film, including some aspects of the plot.

Bay plans to debut the movie next summer. He admitted some missteps with the last film and aims to upgrade the shape-shifting robot franchise with a more coherent story, less goofball humor and a pledge that characters who die will stay dead.

Bay partly blames the rush to churn out the first sequel so soon after the writer's strike to blame for "Revenge of the Fallen" not being quite up to par with the original.

Also, despite Bay not being a fan of 3D, the film will be released in 3D--though it's unsure as of yet if it will be shot that way or converted in post-production.

“Revenge of the Fallen” was the No. 2 movie of 2009 (behind only "Avatar"), earning $836 million worldwide — very popular, though complaints from moviegoers and a negative barrage from critics made the filmmakers take notice.

Plot details are under wraps, but the new film will delve into the space race between the U.S.S.R. and the U.S. At the same time, Sam Witwicky (LaBeouf) is taking his first tenuous steps into adulthood while remaining a reluctant human ally of Optimus Prime.

Bay also spoke about the film’s new villain, who will be Shockwave, a character from the original '80s cartoon. The robot cyclops-turned-laser-cannon, became dictator of the Transformers home world of Cybertron after the other Autobots and Decepticons journeyed to Earth.

Megan Fox, who played Mikaela, was dropped just before shooting, so LaBeouf's character also has a new love interest, played by Victoria's Secret model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.

I really loved the first “Transformers.” I was excited for “Revenge of the Fallen,” but after I saw it, I felt as if I had just sat through two hours of crap blowing up. Which is pretty much exactly what it was. While the original wasn't a cinematic masterpiece, it at least had a story you could follow.

But clearly Bay and the other filmmakers heard what fans and critics were saying, and it looks as if the third “Transformers” film might just be the best of the bunch.