Longtime Transformers fans have plenty of reason to be skeptical about Michael Bay's handling of the film franchise, but many will be pleased to hear that he's acknowledging that Revenge of the Fallen wasn't a particularly solid film. Well, sort of.

"I'll take some of the criticism," he told USA Today on the set of Transformers 3. "It was very hard to put [the sequel] together that quickly after the writers' strike [of 2007-08]."

What Bay would own up to is the fact that The Fallen, the titular bad guy in round two, was "kind of a [expletive] character." But he's looking to change that with the currently shooting third installment, turning towards an interesting villain for this latest round: "Shockwave, the robot cyclops-turned-laser-cannon, who became dictator of their home world of Cybertron after the Autobots and Decepticons journeyed to Earth."

Shockwave has firm roots outside of Earth, and it sounds as if Transformers 3 might head to him instead of vice versa. The plot allegedly focuses on the space race between the U.S.S.R. and the USA, "suggesting there was a hidden Transformers role in it all that remains one of the planet's most dangerous secrets."

"The movie is more of a mystery," according to Bay. "It ties in what we know as history growing up as kids with what really happened."

If this doesn't sound like your cup of tea, the good news is this: Bay is viewing Transformers 3 as the end of his trilogy. "As a trilogy, it really ends," he explained. "It could be rebooted again, but I think it has a really killer ending."

For more on Transformers 3, including Shia LaBeouf's thoughts on his new co-star Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, read the full article at USA Today.