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While the Transformers franchise is known for its gratuitous action, bombastic explosions and bankable blockbuster hype, the circumstances surrounding Shia LaBeouf's departure are just as striking. The leading star left the Michael Bay franchise after three films, with a brutal level of honesty about its artistic direction.
LaBeouf played Sam Witwicky, the likable and noble-minded hero at the center of a battle between the iconic robots in disguise. Transformers is an immensely popular franchise with seemingly endless story possibilities. Though ahead of the release of Transformers: Dark of the Moon in 2011, LaBeouf made it clear that it was time for his character to be put to rest.
Shia LeBeouf Felt His Transformers Character Reached a Natural Conclusion
While promoting the third franchise film, LaBeouf said, "I just don't think right now there is anywhere to take Sam. "I've learned a great deal from Michael, as a person, as an actor, as a person on set. And it's not that I don't enjoy working with Michael. I love working with Michael. I would do any movie Michael wants to do. I just don't think there's anywhere to take it with Sam."
The actor always prioritized character development and storytelling, once explaining his disappointment that "the heart was gone" in 2009's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. LaBeouf was optimistic that the third film would restore the human element in the story, but that didn't happen.
Being around Hollywood since childhood, LaBeouf knew how profitable the franchise was and that it would likely be rebooted in a few years. However, he was not willing to be a part of that because he felt he had nothing more to contribute to Sam's story arc. Even Bay was under the impression for a time that a trilogy would be enough, but he went on to make three more Transformers films without LaBeouf.
Shia LaBeouf's Scathing Criticism of the Transformers Films
In a 2018 interview with Esquire, LaBeouf didn't hold back when it came to giving his assessment of the Transformers franchise:
"My hang-up with those films was that they felt irrelevant. They felt dated as fuck... You come up on these stories about Easy Rider and Raging Bull and De Niro and Scorsese and Hopper, and you find value in what they do. Meanwhile, you’re chasing energon crystals. It’s very hard to keep doing what you’re doing when you feel like it’s the antithesis of your purpose on this planet."
The roles LaBeouf has taken since he left the Transformers franchise seem to better align with his passions. Most notably, Honey Boy (2019) was a semi-autobiographical breakout for the actor in which he unpacked the traumas of his childhood in a new form of art therapy. The Transformers franchise, heavily based in CGI and TNT, would live on without LaBeouf's character, but leaving it behind certainly isn't something he regrets.