For many years, it was impossible to imagine blockbuster cinema without Shia LaBeouf. Major film series such as Indiana Jones and Transformers relied on him. Both recently released sequels without LaBeouf. And there are reasons for this
In Indiana Jones and the Wheel of Fortune, Shia LaBeouf is not in it. That’s not a spoiler. Long before the film’s release, fans and media were already puzzling over how the series would deal with the absence of his character Mutt Williams. LaBeouf’s involvement in the final installment of the franchise was hardly up for debate. And this despite the fact that Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull had positioned him as Harrison Ford’s successor in 2008.
What has happened in the meantime? Why is a movie series that relied on Shia LaBeouf’s charisma and popularity 15 years ago now giving the star a wide berth? We explain the complicated case of Shia LaBeouf in four sections.
1. Shia LaBeouf’s over-presence in the blockbuster cinema of the 2000s
2. Shia LaBeouf’s controversies in Hollywood in the 2010s
3. how Hollywood deals with the Shia LaBeouf problem
4. how Shia LaBeouf is now trying to save his career
The blockbuster cinema of the 2000s couldn’t do without Shia LaBeouf
If you saw a Hollywood blockbuster at the movies in the 2000s, there’s a good chance Shia LaBeouf was in it.
Shia LaBeouf’s early blockbuster supporting roles:
In 2003, he took on a small but typical part in 3 Angels for Charlie – Full Power
In 2004 he played a sidekick alongside Will Smith in I, Robot
and in 2005 a larger sidekick in Constantine alongside Keanu Reeves
These films made him interesting for leading roles in even more elaborate productions:
From 2007: Transformers 1 to 3
2008: Indiana Jones 4
2010: Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps
In addition, there were several genre successes such as Disturbia. No other actor of his generation – LaBeouf was born in 1986 – can boast a portfolio of roles anywhere near as high quality. Shia LaBeouf was the leading man of the light popcorn cinema of the 00s. Influential directors such as Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg supported him during the most important phase of his career. In their money machines, LaBeouf played a nervous, chatty, yet somehow cool outsider character who rises to become a hero. He was an extremely entertaining actor and made for this kind of movie.
However, LaBeouf left the blockbusters behind in the early/mid-2010s and partially burned his bridges with commercial cinema. In 2016, hesaid of his patron Steven Spielberg that he was “less of a director and more of a fucking company”. LaBeouf apologized for this, but the message had gotten through. He worked with indie filmmakers such as Andrea Arnold (American Honey) and proved himself capable of character acting in Nymphomaniac, among others, and reinvented himself away from Hollywood. The Transformers franchise continued without him.
LaBeouf has not played a role in the world of the Autobots for four films. And Indiana Jones is now bringing back the even older Harrison Ford for the (this time really) last time. Director James Mangold justified Shia LaBeouf’s absence when asked by Variety with a lack of space.
Why Shia LaBeouf is no longer in demand in Hollywood
Normally, both lines would be licking their chops for a legacy star like Shia LaBeouf, to whom the target audience attaches commercially valuable nostalgia. For the same reason, last year’s Obi-Wan series brought back Hayden Christensen, who played Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequels. But neither those responsible for Transformers nor those responsible for Indiana Jones approached Shia LaBeouf. And there are several good reasons for this
(Shia LaBeouf in Pieces of a Woman)
According to LaBeouf himself, he spent a lot of time in rehab. For several years, he has regularly made headlines with public outbursts and accusations against his person:
In 2013, allegations of plagiarism were made against him. He apologized with a, now it gets curious, apparently plagiarized apology, as Wired reported.
In 2017, he was arrested for public intoxication and disturbing the peace, the Hollywood Reporter reported. He apologized and sought treatment.
A case from 2020 is still keeping the judiciary busy today. LaBeouf’s ex-girlfriend, singer FKA Twigs, accused him of sexual assault, harassment and intentional infliction of emotional distress, Entertainment Weekly reported. In 2021, he entered treatment and took a career hiatus, Variety wrote . FKA Twigs filed a lawsuit stating, among other things, that LaBeouf had choked her several times. LaBeouf denied all accusations, but admitted his aggressive behavior and alcohol abuse. “I hurt this woman,” he said in a podcast.
These allegations had a significant impact on LaBeouf’s career. He played the male lead alongside Vanessa Kirby in the drama Pieces of Woman. Netflix, which had released the acclaimed film, excluded him from the Oscar campaign . Whether LaBeouf actually lost his lead role in the chaotic sci-fi film Don’t Worry Darling because co-star Florence Pugh felt uncomfortable with him is still not conclusively clear. Don’t Worry Darling would have been LaBeouf’s last production for a major Hollywood studio.
How current blockbuster series deal with Shia LaBeouf’s characters
Transformers disposed of Shia LaBeouf’s character Sam Witwicky with a better half-sentence: his character is apparently dead. The franchise went for a weird crossover in its final installment Rise of the Beasts rather than bring back Shia LaBeouf.
Indiana Jones 5 treated LaBeouf’s Mutt Williams a little more carefully: his character is also dead in this franchise, but the loss is a driving force in the main character’s final story and not a simple side note.
The remaining LaBeouf legacy: Will his character appear in the planned Constantine sequel (his character died but returned as an angel in an end credits scene)? Or in a not so unlikely I, Robot sequel? Probably not. Shia LaBeouf is hardly welcome in the blockbuster cinema he grew up in.
