Mark Wahlberg confirmed as the star in ' Transformers 4'

Transformers 4 (digitaltrends.com)

This week, Michael Bay hinted that Wahlberg was in the frame after rumors begin circulating online. Bay and Wahlberg recently worked together on an action comedy movie "Pain and Gain' that will be released early next year.

Bay confirmed Wahlberg's casting in a post on his official website. He said: "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 calibre is the perfect guy to reinvigorate the franchise and carry on the Transformers legacy"

The fourth series of Transformers will be the first without Shia LaBeouf as the main star, who acted as Sam Witwicky at the third series of Transformers before. Last month, it was confirmed that the sequel will introduce new robots to boost toy sales.

This June, Michael Bay hinted that the forth series of Transformers will take the franchise in a new direction, and said that it could involve a departure from Earth. He said: "I want to a little off but I don't wanna go to Sci-fi. I still want to keep it grounded".

Transformers 4 will begin shooting spring next year, and expected to be released June 2014. The three series before have grossed a collective $2.6 billion at the box office worldwide.

NME