We will never know what would have happened, or rather, which superhero he would have played, but we do know, as Variety tells us, that after the success of Honey Boy –the actor’s autobiographical film based on his childhood and his relationship with his father–, Marvel Studios had considered having the star of the first Transformers installments, Shia LaBeouf, but a lawsuit for sexual assault by his ex-partner sent the signing by the MCU to the fret.
Shia LaBeouf and Marvel, the frustrated signing
Shia LaBeouf is in the eye of the storm after his ex-girlfriend, singer FKA Twigs, filed a lawsuit for various types of abuse. The couple met on the set of Honey Boy, and after they started dating, she explained that he began to abuse her physically and verbally, even knowingly infected her with sexually transmitted diseases. Since the news broke, Twigs has received overwhelming support from the industry, leaving Labeouf in a very tight spot, with all of his potential projects blowing up. Among them, the one from Marvel Studios, who was considering the actor for a role; Variety indicates that Kevin Feige and his team were impressed with the actor after the success of his latest film, but he withdrew immediately and never even got to meet.
Okay, the MCU is known for having star-studded casts, and often taking risks with their contracts as long as they are perfect for the intended project, but this was too much. Without going any further, Robert Downey Jr was bogged down by a history of addiction problems and even served a term in prison in the early 2000s, and still became Iron Man thanks to director Jon Favreau. Considering the success of ‘Honey Boy’, followed by another like ‘ The Peanut Butter Falcon, it was to be expected that Shia would have caught the attention of Kevin Feige and company, and since he does not seem to be the type of actor to take on roles of the superhero, he was perfect for a new big-screen miracle Chris Pratt style.
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