Back in September, we reported that Transformers 4 would follow the events of Transformers: Dark of the Moon.  However, we weren't sure how it would follow the third movie other than how director Michael Bay left the world after the events in Chicago.  Today, Bay has shed a bit more light on how the plot of Transformers 4 will relate to the previous films.  Speaking to TMZ, Bay says that the new movie will take place four years after the events of Transformers: Dark of the Moon.Hit the jump for more, and click here for our previous report regarding the casting of Mark Wahlberg as the film's lead.  Transformers 4 is due out June 27, 2014Here's the relevant excerpt from Bay's conversation with TMZ [via his TFW2005]:

TMZ: So, any early idea of what the story is going to be on Transformers and how Mark... He’s not taking over Shia’s role?

MICHAEL BAY: No no. The movie will continue four years from the Attack on Chicago; which is in the last movie. So it’s going to still have the same lineage. And it’s going a full new direction and feels very natural how it’s going in that direction, there is no way you’re going to ever find out what the story because you don’t have to dig through my trash but I shredded my trash…

I will refrain from making a joke about how the plots of the Transformers movies are trash since that joke makes itself.  As for the "new direction", this presumably relates to how the new movie won't bring back any of the human characters from the original trilogy.