During Hasbro's 2015 First Quarter Earnings Conference Call, Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner revealed that the company has bigger plans in store for its Transformers movie franchise.

According to Goldner, as per this article at TFW 2000:

"Our plan with the studio and filmakers you may have heard some writers being hired and we have in fact brought in Akiva Goldsman to lead a group of writers to really create a strategic plan around Transformers. We think there are any number of stories to be told from the brand that has been around for 30 years with amazing canon and mythology. We would expect the sequel to the Transformers movie [TF4] to happen in 2017."

While the indicated 2017 release date seems appealing, it is important to note that, at this point in time, the company appears to be in the screenplay writing stage of the developmental process. Questions as to whether director Michael Bay or lead actor Mark Wahlberg will return for the sequel have yet to be answered. For now, online rumblings suggest that Michael Bay, the series' only director thus far, is concentrating on other projects and may be leaning away from the director's seat this time around. That said, more concrete details on a 'Transformers 5' are unlikely to be released until the writing team makes headway on the so-called "strategic plan" for the series.

More interesting to note, however, is what the "strategic plan" entails. 'Transformers 4' grossed over $1 billion worldwide during its box office run, and Hasbro is no doubt keen on capitalizing on that success. At the moment, the movie franchise has been limited to one movie release every 3-4 years. It's possible that the company is considering spin-off movies as part of their strategy to expand the brand, but that is mere conjecture at this point in time.

Whatever the case, Transformers fans should have something to look forward to in 2017 and beyond.