Following this morning's report that says a third sequel to 2007's Transformers is in "active discussions," comes word, via Variety that the plan may actually be to shoot a fourth and a fifth film back to back. The same article also states that Shia LaBeouf is unlikely to return and that the franchise may instead place Jason Statham in a leading role, though no official negotiations have begun.

Michael Bay, meanwhile, is said to be interested in returning to direct but, again, nothing is official at this time. No matter what, Bay is likely to complete his next, Pain & Gain, before production on another Transformers would begin, potentially as early as late 2012.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon was an immense financial hit earlier this summer, reaching the fourth spot on the all-time worldwide box office list with $1.119 billion earned.

UPDATE: Michael Bay has posted the following note about this on his site.

I am currently not talking to Paramount on T4 and T5 despite reports. I'm looking at a lot of possibilities coming my way right now weighing options. Most likely going to be doing the low budget Pain and Gain, a true story crime thriller. It's a very quick shoot and quite funny. Also just finishing the 3 disc set of the Transformer trilogy.

Michael