Image Credit: Jaimie Trueblood
With two-and-a-half weeks to go until Transformers: Dark of the Moon opens in theaters, there’s still ample time to catch up on the first installments, buy ear plugs (they are noisy flicks, to say the least), and prepare to bid Shia LaBeouf adieu. When it comes to the Transformers movies, anyway.
LaBeouf, who has played Sam Witwicky since 2007′s original mega-blockbuster Transformers, all but confirmed at the MTV Movie Awards that he would not be back for a fourth film. “I’m not coming back to do another one,” he told MTV, adding that director Michael Bay probably won’t either. With all due respect to Mr. LaBeouf (whose last name I now only pronounce like Sofia Vergara’s Gloria on Modern Family), but will it matter? While he’s certainly a likable guy, both on-screen and off, isn’t the franchise all about the robots and how much stuff they can annihilate?
That’s not to say that Transformers fans haven’t formed a bond with LaBeouf’s Sam or they wouldn’t be as keen on seeing the next couple of flicks without him, should they be greenlit. After all, it could be argued that Fast and Furious fans only want to see the cars, but the Paul Walker-free The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift was the lowest-grossing flick of that franchise.
If the Transformers flicks do go on without LaBeouf, who will the filmmakers (particularly if Bay isn’t on Board) choose? It was no strange coincidence that they chose to replace Megan Fox, the object of many a teenage boy’s desire with … Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, the object of many a teenage boy’s desire, so will they pick a similar pedigree for their leading man, a somewhat goofy, but heroic everyman (say, perhaps, someone like Kick-Ass star Aaron Johnson)?
Do you think it will matter if Shia LaBeouf isn’t in the next Transformers movie, PopWatchers? Or did you only sit through them because of him? Let us know in the comments section below!
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A big part of me showing up is for Shia. But why in the hell would they male another transformers movie after this? Money sure, but c’Mon, are there really no franchises that we can just make into a trilogy and then leave it alone? Gah!
serious, you see the movie for shia?? so sad, so very sad…
i didn’t say I see it solely for shia– I said its a big part. I think he is a great actor and brings a lot to the character of Sam. But duh, I show up for the ear-drum-blowing sound and cool robots. Duh.
Shia is unbearable. No matter the role, he’ll always be a unbearably annoying sidekick in my eyes. From throwing coffees at reporters then running away, to mispronouncing words like “epitome” from prepared scripts during interviews, he’s such an actor that I can’t help but hate. Good riddance. Now get rid of Michael Bay, and there’s a chance that the franchise could make the upgrade to watchable mess.
Seriously…you actually sw this movie – Shia would be the ONLY reason I would see this GARBAGE!
Banana said Shia was a “big part” of wanting to watch the movies,not the only one.Anyways what’s wrong with that?Surely people have right to their own preference. I find it “so sad” that you feel all should have the same opinion as you. Having a variety of opinions is part of what makes movies enjoyable. I for one feel Shia was perfectly cast and I can’t imagine anyone else in the role,kinda like Milla Jovovich in Resident Evil series or Indiana Jones without Harrison Ford.As well,Bays style fits with the epic theme and feel of the series.It would truly be a task to replace Shia,but thankfully Bay has signed on for another,and who says he can’t pull it off again? He allready did by replacing Megan Fox (which no one thought he’d be able to pull off),so why not Shia? He’s allready proven he knows how to bring in an impeccable cast.It’s sad to see Shia go but I can’t wait to see the direction the series goes next.
Speaking as a life-long Transformers fan I can safely say that I know of not one other person at all who cares if Shia is in the movie. We care about Optimus Prime, Starscream, Megatron, Devastator, Bumblebee, etc. Adios Shia. Don’t let the door hit you and your neurotic frenzied “acting” on the way out.
Weird, because I won’t go see the movies because of Shia.
Actually I find his death scene in Constantine very enjoyable.
i agree with you dude and i love the robots
I’m not sure if I’ll enjoy not watching these movies as much if Shia isn’t in them. Guess I’ll find out.
Transformer movies will be crap regardless of who stars in them.
wow I think transformer movies are great, but i guess since i am a big kid that is why, and i can say that i have grown to like shia as a actor for any movie and wouldn’t be able to watch wothout him…who drops megan fox though that was crazy why?
I Love transformer movies though I’m not sure i’m gonna like the next one without Shia , and Megan fox dropped herself
Isn’t this supposed to be the last Transformers anyway? Mike Bay said it would…
And you can ALWAYS trust Michael Bay.
Ugh, no one likes him that much anyway! He always bites the hand that feeds him, don’t understand why directors keep hiring him!
Maybe cuz he’s a good actor (;
Who cares about this guy anyway? Anybody could play that role. He’s crazy and big headed to think he doesn’t need it anymore. We’ll see him doing commercials next year.
Nope he’s gonna be doing other films, because u like any other artist transformers isn’t the only movie he’s done.
Good for Shia, those movies are crap.
The next words out of Shia’s mouth will be “do you want fries with that?” Don’t feel bad for him, Megan Fox will be serving up burgers right next to him.
He’ll be in the next big franchise. You’ll see.
Haha. He’s got that ridiculous Tom Cruise run down pat in that picture.
no problem, it’s easy to get another dorky looking guy to fill the role
I won’t be able to sleep at night knowing this.
Maybe with him and Michael Bay gone, they’ll actually now make a Transformers movie about Transformers.
i agree with you,ian,but i never had a problem with shia.i never liked megan fox so i’m glad she’s gone.i mean,i’m all for T&A in a movie,but she was just meh all the way around.
Damn right! Every movie feels more like “Sam Witwicky and his Tranforming Sidekicks”. It’s like making a Superman movie and centering everything around Lois Lane with Superman only occasionally showing up to advance the plot or have a brief fight scene.
Bring on the Dinobots, Grimlock,Swoop,Snarl,ETC. Make a Movie about the robots! I too am tired of seeing all this Sam this and Sam that. It’s like watching LotR, and everytime you turned around, it was some lame scene with Froto and Sam!
“Will it be the same without him?”
I don’t know. Will a Transformers movie be stupid, loud, noisy, unfunny, unbearably long, nonsensical, pointless and terrible?
You know what, I’m going to bet on “yes, yes it will be”.
Vince for the win.
What troubles me is that you’re all so eager for ANOTHER Transformers after this one. It’ll be like beating a dead horse after this. Let it lie.
All I want is a movie about Transformers, not Shia and his hot gf with Transformers in the Background! Honestly, I just want a 200million dollar cartoon of transformers and a plot line that follows them, not the humans around them!
The only way you get to that movie is by the studio being confident people are now happy to turn up for the Transformers. They certainly were not confident of that when they made the first Transformers and they were probably right to introduce the audience to this world through ‘relatable’ humans.
SEE ya Shia. Say hi to Megan Fox when you get to oblivion…
The difference is he had a career before Transformers.
Also, yes the franchise will be the same without him…total crap.
So true. The movies are crap, but popular. I think the box office will drop without him, just out of inertia, unless they get a big box office name to replace him. They’ll need a good director and maybe even a good script. Who am I kidding, the studio doesn’t really care about quality.
I don’t think Shia was suggesting that another Transformer’s movie wouldn’t work without him or Michael Bay. He’s just finished a trilogy of these things, and it’s perfectly understandable if he wants to move on. I loved him in Disturbia, liked him in Indiana Jones, he’s a likeable, and talented actor. I’d love to see him do something else for a change. Will I see another Transformers without him or Michael? Probably, if it’s any good, probably even if it isn’t. It’s not like I’m NOT seeing Transformers 3 just because Megan Fox isn’t in it. Though I’ll miss looking at her, I’m not boycotting cause she’s not there. Transformers is a franchise built upon comics, tv shows, and a giant amount of toys, it’s a MUCH bigger franchise than any one actor or director. I just hope they don’t decide to reboot it, there’s really nothing to reboot.
I think they have to reboot it at least somewhat, considering that megatron got his head sliced and torn off if memory serves me correctly. Unless they find a convincing enough way to bring him and starscream back, they will have to reboot it. The other option may also be to introduce Unicron as a new villian. Regardless I would love to see them come out with something that’s in the distant future where the autobots have been fully integrated into society and accepted. Something more like the cartoon. Definitely focusing on the actual transformers is the way the “franchise” should go in my opinion.
It will probably make sense to move away from Sam’s story if the franchise continues. The small plot that Shia has in Transformers is basically a coming of age story about an awkward kid turning into a leader. Sam is going to be an adult in this one, so there’s not a lot left to tell there.
Honestly, I won’t watch another Transformers movie if he’s not in it. The last one was bad enough *with* him, and his performance was one of the few highlights.