Thank The Dark Knight‘s IMAX receipts for this one. While we’ve known for a long time that Transformers 2, like the film that precedes it, would be remastered for presentation in IMAX theatres, we now know that there will be more than digitally embiggened robots hitting large-format screens next year. Michael Bay will be shooting ‘at least three’ action sequences natively in IMAX format, according to both Variety and a press release from the IMAX corp. So while the remastered 35mm sequences will be letterboxed on the IMAX screen, as is typical for upconverted films, the natively-shot bits will fill the entire screen, likely with fire and bits of metal flying around hurly-burly as Bay indulges in his standard fireworks.

This is the logical end result of what went down earlier this year with Batman’s IMAX success. Expect to see this more and more (Iron Man 2 and Y: The Last Man are two other big films with directors interested in shooting with IMAX cameras) as tentpoles try to claim a few more dollars during opening weekend. And while I’m slowly beginning to be intrigued by 3D after years of dismissal, I’m more interested in this large-format explosion as the next big thing in audience-attraction technology.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen opens in regular and IMAX theatres on June 26, 2009.