LOS ANGELES — Liam Garrigan, who plays King Arthur on ABC's Once Upon a Time, is in talks to play the same character in Paramount's Transformers: The Last Knight, Mashable has exclusively learned.

Michael Bay returns to direct the blockbuster sequel, which ties into Arthurian legend, according to insiders. Though King Arthur and Merlin are known to be a part of the story, the context of their appearance remains unknown.

Mark Wahlberg stars alongside Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Isabela Moner, Laura Haddock, Jerrod Carmichael, Gil Birmingham and Anthony Hopkins. Santiago Cabrera will co-star as Merlin, and many of your favorite Autobots and Decepticons will return as well.

Paramount will release Transformers: The Last Knight on June 23, 2017, and if you think the franchise entry will stop there, think again. A Bumblebee spinoff is due in June 2018, while a sixth Transformers movie is slated to arrive in June 2019.

Garrigan has a number of TV credits to his resume, including 24: Live Another Day and Cinemax's action series Strike Back. He co-starred in Renny Harlin's The Legend of Hercules and last played King Arthur in a May episode of Once Upon a Time. He's represented by UTA and Curtis Brown Group.

Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for comment.