‘Transformers 4′ Gets Funky With Mark Wahlberg And New Promo Image

You might've thought that there was nowhere for the Transformers movie franchise to go after the 3D hi-jinks and shenanigans of Dark of The Moon, but as it turns out, you would've been wrong. Michael Bay has realized exactly what the Transformers movies (in this case... Trans4mers?) were missing, and added it to the still-untitled fourth movie... and its name is Mark Wahlberg.

Wahlberg, who has just finished working with the bombastic Bay on the upcoming crime flick Pain and Gain (due in theaters next year), has been confirmed as the (human) star of the fourth installment of the Transformers movie series following rumors online last week that Bay was considering him. After initially denying that Wahlberg was involved, Bay realized that whoever made up the rumor was onto something. "Let's say some ideas are gaining traction with me and my writer," he posted on his website on Hallowe'en, "so I'm here to say thanks internet chatter."

Now, Bay is using his website to announce the news officially, saying "Mark is awesome. We had a blast working on "Pain and Gain" and I'm so fired up to be back working with him. An actor of his caliber is the perfect guy to re-invigorate the franchise and carry on the Transformers' legacy."

The news was accompanied by a new graphic teasing the fourth movie (above), which is due in theaters June 27, 2014. We can but hope that Wahlberg's first appearance on screen in the movie will be to announce the untimely demise of Shia LeBeouf's Sam - and start wondering just how soon we can start seeing hints of who Wahlberg will be playing popping up in IDW's Transformers line. After all, the publisher started releasing prologue comics for the third movie eight months before its release, and no-one can deny that comics have needed just a little bit more Wahlberg since the industry's 1990s heyday...