Introduced in the fourth installment of the saga, Shia LaBeouf is not in “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”, in theaters since June 28. But what happened to him? Warning, spoilers!
SPOILERS – Warning, the article below reveals potential spoilers. If you don’t want to know the content, please don’t read the following…
Interpreter of the young Mutt Williams – the hidden son of Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood in the fourth opus of the saga – Shia LaBeouf does not return to give the reply to Harrison Ford in The Dial of Destiny, fifth and last part directed by James Mangold, in theaters since June 28.
If we were aware of his absence from the cast for many months, we now know how the screenwriters justified it in the plot of the film. Indeed, in a line of dialogue from the feature film, we learn that Mutt went to war in Vietnam against his father’s advice, and that he was killed on the battlefield. A drama from which Indy and Marion have not recovered, preferring to separate.
So we now know what happened to Mutt. But what about his interpreter?
The 37-year-old American actor who, at the end of the 2000s, had a string of important roles in major productions (Indiana Jones, therefore, but also Transformers, I, Robot or Wall Street) is much rarer in the Hollywood landscape for some time.
Indeed, since the 2010s, the young actor seems to have distanced himself from blockbusters to turn more towards independent cinema, working successively for Lars von Trier (Nymphomaniac), for Andrea Arnold (American Honey), and soon for Abel Ferrara (Padre Pio).
Lucasfilm Ltd.
In 2010, two years after the release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Shia LaBeouf had also taken the floor to evoke the disappointment of the fans and to attribute in part the critical failure of the film.
Mutt Williams’ character, his arrogance and his acrobatics in the jungle, were indeed among the big negatives in the fourth installment, according to many viewers. No doubt this is one of the main reasons that explain the studio’s desire to make the character disappear in the fifth film.
Lucasfilm Ltd.
But to this, it is probably worth adding the various controversies that have recently enamelled the personal life of the actor. In 2017, Shia LaBoeuf was arrested on suspicion of disturbing public order (according to The Hollywood Reporter) and for drunkenness on the public highway, before being accused, three years later, of sexual assault by his girlfriend at the time (according to Entertainment Weekly).
These legal troubles, as well as the antipathy of the fans towards his character, could help explain the absence of the latter in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
Mainly linked to smaller projects lately, Shia LaBeouf should nevertheless participate in Francis Ford Coppola’s ambitious Megalopolis.
(Re)discover the trailer for “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”…