O.K., this is a strange one. A while back, a rumor surfaced online stating that Mark Wahlberg was in line for a role in Michael Bay's Transformers 4. This was quickly squashed by the director, but he started to think about it, and well........let's hear from the man himself:
I squashed a rumor that was on the internet last week. It was about Mark Wahlberg. Mark was rumored to be starring in Transformers 4. We are working on another movie together, not T4. I had such a great time working with Mark on Pain and Gain, and he gave such a great performance - well let's just say the internet chatter gave me some ideas. We are at the inception of our story process right now on T4. Let's say some ideas are gaining traction with me and my writer - so I'm here to say thanks internet chatter.
Soon after that statement, we get this one, and a nifty new Transformer 4 logo (see above), confirming that Wahlberg will indeed be sharing screen time with the Autobots and Decepticons:
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 caliber is the perfect guy to re-invigorate the franchise and carry on the Transformers’ legacy.
So is this the first time an unfounded rumor actually came true? Nothing is known about Wahlberg's role, or even what the, said to be, final installment of Bay's giant robot epic action fest will be about. But with a start date of early next year for a June 27th 2014 release, all will become clear over the next few months.
Source: michaelbay.com