By this I mean considering the storylines in comics and what not. Could it do it or will it be in the shadows?

 

These films made a profit for at least a decade and changed the face of the franchise for better or worse. If that's not popular, I don't know what is.

 

It could but I'm tired of movies being in cinematic universes that's getting pretty repetitive and unoriginal. I hope for this new universe they stick to solo characters movies if you get a couple of hits then by all means do a cinematic universe

 

Nah. If by "popular", you mean both commercially AND critically successful (since previous TF movies have already fit the bill for the former), I think the damage is done.

 

Could it? Sure, it's absolutely more than possible. During the 2007 - AOE era, Transformers was one of the dominating movie series.

Will it happen? Eh, I'm skeptical that Transformers will ever reach Marvel-level popularity. The general climate of movies has shifted since the Bay era, audiences are starting to desire long-form storytelling over adrenaline-filled action. In order to be "as popular as Marvel", Transformers would probably have to adopt a similar approach to Marvel. And sadly, Transformers just doesn't lend itself that that type of storytelling very well. I mean, can you picture 22 Transformers movies that are all interconnected. It would be cool, but it seems unlikely. I certainly think Transformers will continue to be profitable (some TF movies could rival individual Marvel movies), but I don't think it will ever be as popular as Marvel, as a franchise.

 

Pretty much a same exact thread already exists: When can transformers films be as popular as the Marvel series?

 

I'd rather they were films of quality than if they were popular or not.

 

Probably not.... MCU rely on all the riff raff going to see the movies. Transformers films attract a better class of cinema goer