Mark Wahlberg is one of the most bankable and talked-about celebrities because of his steadily increasing fame and stature since he began his career. As a leading man, he has acted in a number of big-budget movies, including the critically successful Transformers series.
Transformers: Age of Extinction, directed by Michael Bay in 2014, featured the Ted actor’s first appearance as Cade Yeager, marking his entry into the franchise. This was followed by his last appearance in the science fiction film series in the fifth installment, Transformers: The Last Knight.
Given Wahlberg’s prominence in the industry and the enormous profits the franchise generated, it was expected that he would stay in the series even after Transformers: The Last Knight.
Even, Bumblebee, Transformers 6 was hinted at by Paramount even prior to the release of Transformers: The Last Knight.
However, Wahlberg did not want to get involved, though, at that point. The Uncharted movie star left the franchise following the fifth installment. He spoke openly about it in a 2017 interview.
Why Did Mark Wahlberg Leave Transformers 5?
With his fantastic charisma and unbreakable bond with the powerful Autobots, Mark Wahlberg has captured the hearts of Transformers fans all over the world. He reprised his role as Cade Yeager in Michael Bay’s Transformers: The Last Knight, which was his last film in the Transformers franchise.
His reason for quitting the franchise was disclosed in a 2017 interview.
The actor discussed his precise reason for leaving the action franchise on The Graham Norton Show on June 16, 2017, as he stated:
“It’s the last one so I get my life back!”
In addition, Wahlberg revealed to Norton that he had to endure a haircut he detested for “five months” after spending so much time getting in top physical shape for The Last Knight.
He jokingly said:
“The long hair is the worst thing ever. I look like my mum in the ‘70s – it’s just really bad!”
A Brief About Mark Wahlberg’s Transformers: The Last Knight
Transformers: The Last Knight, a science fiction action 2017 film, was inspired by Hasbro’s Transformers toy line. The previous entry in the series was Transformers: Age of Extinction, which came out in 2014. This was the fifth installment. Michael Bay directed the film, which was adapted from a screenplay written by Ken Nolan, Matt Holloway, and Art Marcum.
Not only did Wahlberg play the film’s lead again, but Josh Duhamel, Glenn Morshower, and John Turturro also returned to their respective roles from the first three installments.
For the unversed, the movie was a box office disaster. With a $217–260 million budget, it earned over $605 million in total revenue worldwide.
Following the box office disaster of Transformers: The Last Knight, Wahlberg’s decision to leave the film seemed like a wise one. Later, he appeared in several films, including All the Money in the World, Mile 22, and Instant Family. He even received recognition in 2022 for his acclaimed performance in Uncharted.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, the seventh film in the Transformers series, is available to stream on Paramount Plus.
Meanwhile also take note that the eighth installment, Transformers One will release on September 13, 2024.
Source- The Graham Norton Show (via Digital Spy)
