In a surprise move, it seems Transformers and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen director Michael Bay has decided to leave the franchise and not do a third movie.

It does seem weird that Michael would quit only months after saying he would simply be taking a break before doing Transformers 3 in 2012. It’s also interesting that he mentions it a day before the first public opening in the UK.

The most shocking thing about his interview with wenn.com (via IMDB) is that he will be doing something different: “I need to do something totally divergent, something without any explosions.” He also goes on to comment on reviewers, “It’s easy to go shoot an art movie in a winery in the South of France. But people have no idea how hard it is to create something like Transformers. They (the critics) review me before they’ve even seen the movie.” Don’t worry Michael, we liked it.

So fans, think back to 2006 and start deciding who you would love to direct the next installment of Transformers.