Michael Bay has announced that his new Transformers film is the start of another trilogy.

The filmmaker made the first set of three movies between 2007 and 2011 and is rebooting the franchise about shape-shifting robots with Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014), which has a new cast including Mark Wahlberg.

He has now told Entertainment Weekly that the new instalment is meant as the start of a new trilogy, although he pointed out that that didn't necessarily mean the two follow-ups would go ahead.

"It's kind of like a new Transformers," Bay explained. "We had three, the first trilogy, and this is going to be the next one."

He continued: "Yeah, it's the first of a new trilogy. I'm not necessarily sure that I'm doing the others, but that's what it's meant for."

The first three films starred Shia LaBeouf, but he will not be in the new movie, with Mark taking on leading man duties.

Bay said it's "always good to freshen it up and change the story" and insisted that Shia - who has been in the headlines in recent months for a series of bizarre antics - didn't get the axe.

"No, no it was mutual. He only wanted to do three, and I think that's all," he said. "Then I pulled Mark into this after Pain And Gain, because we had a great time working together."

Transformers: Age Of Extinction is due to be released in June.

Source: Press Release