Michael Bay has confirmed on his official forum site shootfortheedit.com that Skins and Mudflap will not be back in the next instalment of the Transformers movie franchise.

The Autobot twins appeared in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and received criticism for embodying racist stereotypes. Their street-like personalities, use of slang, and inability to read caused controversy amongst fans and critics alike. Their exclusion from the third Transformers film will be welcome news for many fans.

Principal photography for Transformers 3 is set to begin July 4. The film is scheduled for release on July 1, 2011.