Thanks to Mirage for reporting on our message board, that Sci-Fi Wire has an article regarding the Transformers movie where they quote varity as reporting the that the rumoured release date of June 26th, is not an official date. What's interesting is that they report that Michael Bay has currently not signed onboard, where as previous articles on sites such as LA times reported he had

Transformers 2 Gets 2009 Date

Paramount and DreamWorks are holding the date of June 26, 2009, for Transformers 2, with Michael Bay expected to return to direct the sequel, Variety reported.

The first Transformers, starring Shia LaBeouf and based on the toy robot line, has grossed nearly $700 million worldwide, giving DreamWorks its first live-action franchise, the trade paper reported.

Steven Spielberg, who took an executive-producer credit on Transformers, was closely involved with the film, including bringing Bay aboard to direct and LaBeouf to star. He's expected to be involved in the sequel.

Bay has not yet signed a deal to helm the follow-up but is in the final stages of negotiation. With Bay's involvement, LaBeouf is expected to return as well.

LaBeouf stars alongside Harrison Ford in Spielberg's upcoming Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which opens May 22, 2008.

DreamWorks and Par are hoping to at least begin production on the Transformers sequel before a possible strike, even if they have to finish after it.