The “Transformers”-loving world was shocked last week when it was revealed that star Megan Fox would not be returning for the upcoming third movie in the franchise, which starts shooting this week. Although her character was central to the plot of the first two movies, a publicly contentious professional relationship between Fox and director Michael Bay reportedly led to the split.

“Transformers” co-star Tyrese Gibson said he was disappointed when he heard the news of Fox’s departure.

“I was sad about it, man. Genuinely,” he told MTV News on the red carpet for the E! 20th anniversary celebration Monday night. “We built something here. We all did. We all put our own sauce and stamp and energy on this franchise.”

As much as he was bummed to hear the news, Gibson isn’t prying into the backstory before he heads to the “Transformers 3″ set this Thursday. “I don’t know exactly what went down,” he said. “But it’s crazy to see the band get broken up, you know what I mean?”

No matter which story you believe — that Paramount decided not to exercise Fox’s option, or that Fox decided she wanted out — it certainly is surprising that such a key figure in the franchise would be removed so suddenly, especially with production so close to kicking off. The problematic Fox/Bay relationship aside, there have been few indications of problems in the “Transformers” camp. Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura even told MTV News in a recent interview that a “Transformers” without Fox was unthinkable.

“Michael and Megan get along great. Like in any creative endeavor, there’s not always total agreement,” he said at the time. “But I think [reports of their issues with one another are] much ado about nothing. I even read that we were thinking about not casting her. Come on! It’s so silly. As though we would want to mess with such a successful combination.”

Source: MTV.com