Spielberg Moves From a Transformers Producer Credit to Franchise Oversight

Variety reports that Steven Spielberg has taken on the task of helming the Transformers franchise, with an eighth live-action film in development at Paramount Pictures. He will serve as an executive producer on Transformers 8, as he has on previous films in the series, and will also oversee all creative aspects of the movie working alongside Lorenzo di Bonaventura.

The two roles are doing different work in that sentence. An executive producer credit on a franchise can be elastic — sometimes a real job, sometimes a courtesy. Overseeing "all creative aspects" of a live-action production reads as the more concrete commitment, which suggests the series' creative direction now runs through Spielberg rather than resting entirely with whoever ends up directing.