Could Josh Duhamel appear in 'Transformers 4'?

When Josh Duhamel first started talking about Transformers 4, he didn't sound confident that any of the human cast would be returning. As Michael Bay began casting the film, adding Mark Wahlberg as the new lead along with a couple of young co-stars, Duhamel certainly seemed to be right. But that was more than a year ago, and now things may have suddenly changed.

While at SXSW for the debut of his new film, Scenic Route, Duhamel spoke to THR and revealed this conversation he had with Bay....

Duhamel: "[Michael] said he wants to put me in it someplace. I don’t know if he was just saying that because he had me on the phone and he felt obligated or what, but you know what? I got to do three of those. It changed my career, it changed my life getting to be a part of something that big, so I’m grateful for even doing the first three of them."

He's not kidding about that last part. Before he landed the role of soldier William Lennox in all three films, Duhamel was just that guy from Turistas and the NBC series Las Vegas. Now he's a viable leading man who recently starred in Nicholas Sparks' Safe Haven.

I kind of figured that with Wahlberg replacing the wimpy Shia LaBeouf, there wouldn't be as much of a need for the military guys. Wahlberg can take out an army of Deceptions by himself, right? If anyone's being brought back I'm glad it's Duhamel.  Transformers 4 opens on June 27th 2014.