Mark to star in ‘Transformers’

Mark Wahlberg has been confirmed to star in Transformers 4.

In a post on his official blog, director Michael Bay posted a press release in which he confirmed the casting of the Oscar-nominated actor to the fourth instalment of his blockbuster franchise after the pair worked together on Bay’s action comedy Pain and Gain.

"Mark is awesome. We had a blast working on Pain and Gain and I’m so fired up to be back working with him," Bay said in a statement. "An actor of his caliber is the perfect guy to re-invigorate the franchise and carry on the Transformers’ legacy."

Shia LaBeouf starred in the first three movies in the franchise and while there was recent speculation he had been offered $18-million to reprise his role of Sam Witwicky for a fourth time, his representatives have since denied such claims.

Despite originally saying he didn’t want to helm a fourth Transformers movie, Bay recently admitted he decided to do the film because he didn’t want anyone else to "screw it up", and he was impressed with the Transformers rollercoaster ride at Universal Studios when it opened in Hollywood in May.

He explained: "I thought I was done. Then the ride came out and the two-and-a-half-hour lines. And then you’re thinking, ‘Oh my God, someone’s going to take this over.’ And you start doing a lot of soul-searching."

Transformers 4 is currently slated for a June 2014 release.

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