Shia LaBeouf has not had a great 2020. At the beginning of the year, things looked rosy. He’d apparently overcome his alcohol dependency issues, was picking up good notices for Honey Boy, had won over audiences with the excellent The Peanut Butter Falcon and there were multiple reports that major studios considered him a rising prospect once again. The peak came when he beat out several A-list competitors for a role in Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling, apparently making his mainstream comeback official.
Then the lawsuit from his former partner Tahliah Barnett (aka FKA Twigs) hit the news. This alleged a shocking litany of abusive behavior including strangulation, beatings, intentionally infecting her with an STD and getting his kicks by shooting stray dogs. The allegations were backed up by other women and – quite rightly – have blown a hole in his career revival.
One role he’s reportedly missed out is an unknown Marvel Studios part. According to Variety, Kevin Feige and co. were impressed by Honey Boy and were lining up a job for LaBeouf, but this is definitely not happening now. It’s theorized that he could’ve been eyed for Moon Knight (which has since gone to Oscar Isaac), but I’ve always liked the fan casting of him as Wolverine.
Any dreams LaBeouf had of strapping on a cape and entering the MCU are toast, then, as since the lawsuit dropped, he’s been booted from a lot of his upcoming roles. Variety reports that he’s not attached to any projects right now and it seems he’s set to return to the wilderness and will try to rebuild his reputation once again. Whether he deserves a second (or third, or fourth) chance isn’t up to me, but I struggle to see audiences warming to him given that he’s been unable to deny executing dogs. That’s the kind of allegation that sticks.
Then again, if Mel Gibson can make a comeback, I wouldn’t rule out anything for Shia LaBeouf.
