Paramount, Steven Spielberg planning new, Peter Cullen-less Transformers movie

With the loss of Peter Cullen, the rumbling, irreplaceable voice of Optimus Prime, still aching in our hearts, Paramount Pictures and Hasbro are reportedly streamlining efforts to bring a new Transformers movie to theaters. Per Deadline, the studio has tapped Steven Spielberg and Lorenzo di Bonaventura to “focus on all creative aspects” of the new live-action feature, with Page Six reporting that Michael Bay will return to direct the franchise’s next installment. Spielberg will be taking a more prominent creative role as executive producer than in more recent outings; Deadline notes he’ll return to lead “the creative direction” as he did with 2007’s Transformers and its 2009 sequel Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen. (Serious question: Does this mean Steven Spielberg had more to do with the Skids and Mudflap controversy than we originally knew? We’re through the looking-glass, people!)