Claim: Transformers: Dark of the Moon is a sequel.

Transformers : Dark of the Moon is a 2011 American science fiction action film directed by Michael Bay and based on the toy line of the same name created by Hasbro . It is the third installment in the live-action Transformers film series , and is the sequel to 2009 's Transformers : Revenge of the Fallen . It is also the first film in the series not to be co-produced by DreamWorks . The film stars Shia LaBeouf , Josh Duhamel , John Turturro , Tyrese Gibson , Rosie Huntington-Whiteley , Patrick Dempsey , Kevin Dunn , Julie White , John Malkovich and Frances McDormand . Its story is set three years after the events of Revenge of the Fallen , and follows the warring Autobots and Decepticons as they battle to possess powerful technology from their homeworld that had crashed on Earth 's moon .   The script was written by Ehren Kruger , who also collaborated on the narrative of Revenge of the Fallen . Dark of the Moon employed both regular 35mm film cameras and specially-developed 3-D cameras , with filming locations in Chicago , Florida , Indiana , Milwaukee , Moscow , and Washington , D.C. . The film was rendered specifically for 3-D , and the visual effects involved more complex robots which took longer to render . In May 2011 , it was announced that Paramount would move Dark of the Moon release date of July 1 to June 29 , in order to monitor an early response to footage .   Exclusive early premieres in select 3D and IMAX theaters took place June 28 , 2011 , one night before worldwide release in 2D and 3D -LRB- including IMAX 3D -RRB- formats -- each featuring Dolby Surround 7.1 sound . Critical reception of the film was mixed , with several critics calling it better than Revenge of the Fallen and praising the film 's visuals , Steve Jablonsky 's musical score , and 3-D action sequences , while others criticized its writing , acting , and length . Dark of the Moon grossed US$ 1.12 billion worldwide , and is currently the 13th-highest-grossing film of all time , the second-highest-grossing film of 2011 -LRB- behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 2 -RRB- , the highest-grossing film in the Transformers series , and the 10th film to gross over $ 1 billion . Like the first film , it was nominated for Best Sound Editing , Best Sound Mixing , and Best Visual Effects at the 84th Academy Awards . It was followed by Transformers : Age of Extinction in 2014 . A fifth film , titled Transformers : The Last Knight is set to be released in 2017 .