Indiana Jones and the Wheel of Destiny opens in German cinemas this week, but Shia LaBeouf is not there. This is not a spoiler. Long before the film’s release, fans and the media were left wondering how the series would deal with the absence of its character, Mutt Williams. LaBeouf’s involvement in the latter part of the franchise was hardly an option. And this despite the fact that Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull had positioned him as a quasi successor to Harrison Ford in 2008.
What happened in the meantime? Why is a film 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.
The blockbuster cinema of the 2000s couldn’t do without Shia LaBeouf
If you saw a Hollywood blockbuster in theaters in the 2000s, chances are Shia LaBeouf was in on it.
Shia LaBeouf’s early blockbuster supporting roles:
These films made him interesting for leading roles in even more elaborate productions:
There were also several genre successes such as Disturbia. No other actor of his generation – LaBeouf was born in 1986 – can boast a role portfolio that comes close to quality. Shia LaBeouf was the leading man of light popcorn cinema in the ’00s. Influential directors such as Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg supported him in the most important phase of his career. In her money machines, LaBeouf played a jittery, chattering, yet somehow cool misfit character who elevates himself to hero. He was an extremely entertaining actor and made for this type of film.
But LaBeouf left the blockbusters behind in the early/mid 2010s and partially burned its bridges to commercial cinema. In 2016 he said his patron Steven Spielberg was “less a director and more a damn company”. LaBeouf apologized, but the message got through. He worked with indie filmmakers such as Andrea Arnold (American Honey) and proved his suitability as a character actor in Nymphomaniac, among others, and reinvented himself away from Hollywood. The Transformers franchise went on without him.
For four films, LaBeouf has not played a role in the world of the Autobots. And Indiana Jones now brings back the even older Harrison Ford for (this time really) the last time. When asked by Variety, director James Mangold explained Shia LaBeouf’s absence as a lack of space.
Why Shia LaBeouf is no longer in demand in Hollywood
Normally, both ranks would lick their fingers at a legacy star like Shia LaBeouf, whom target audiences attach commercially valuable nostalgia to. 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 the leaders of Transformers nor those of Indiana Jones approached Shia LaBeouf. And there are several good reasons for that.
Netflix
Shia LaBeouf in Pieces of a Woman
LaBeouf said he spent a lot of time in rehab. For several years he has regularly produced headlines with public outbursts and allegations against himself:
A case from 2020 has kept the judiciary busy to this day. LaBeouf’s ex-girlfriend, singer FKA Twigs, has accused him of sexual assault, molestation and intentionally inflicting emotional distress, Entertainment Weekly reported. In 2021, he entered treatment and took a career hiatus, Variety wrote. FKA Twigs filed a lawsuit alleging, among other things, that LaBeouf choked her multiple times. LaBeouf denied all allegations, but admitted his aggressive behavior and alcohol abuse. “I hurt this woman”he said on a podcast in 2022.
Even part 4 was better! Indiana Jones 5 Wheel of Destiny Review
These allegations had a significant impact on LaBeouf’s career. He played the male lead opposite Vanessa Kirby in the drama Pieces of Woman. Netflix, which released the acclaimed film, is excluding it from the Oscars campaign. Whether LaBeouf actually lost his starring role in the chaotic sci-fi film Don’t Worry Darling because co-star Florence Pugh felt uncomfortable with him has yet to be conclusively determined. 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
What is Shia LaBeouf doing today?
Independent cinema continues to like LaBeouf. Stars who have fallen into disrepute, such as Mel Gibson, Kevin Spacey and Johnny Depp, also swing from role to role here or try to make a comeback. The stages are smaller, the attention naturally lower and the budgets tighter. LaBeouf starred in the Abel Ferrara drama Padre Pio, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival last year.
An exception: Megalopolis by The Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola. The film will cost $120 million, which Coppola will pay out of pocket, Variety writes. These are almost Transformers dimensions. Shia LaBeouf takes on a supporting role in the mega project. There are rumors in the industry that he is preparing for his comeback.
Podcast on Indiana Jones 5: Worthy successor or failure?
The screen love is the weekly cinema and film podcast of our colleagues from FILMSTARTS
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In the new edition of the FILMSTARTS podcast on the screen love, moderator Sebastian, FILMSTARTS editor Pascal and Yves von Moviepilot talk about “Indiana Jones 5”. The trio is quite divided about whether Harrison Ford’s last adventure as Indiana Jones was actually a success or a failure.
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