In case you were wondering whether Shia LaBeouf would be returning for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, director James Mangold is now setting the record straight with an explanation about why he chose not to invite the actor back to the franchise.
In an interview on the red carpet, Variety posed the question to Mangold about whether he ever considered bringing back LeBeouf, who played the son of Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones in the past. Mangold said it was always his goal from the beginning to bring back the “energy between Indy and an intrepid female character […] There’s only so many people you can edge into a picture.”
Indeed, Dial of Destiny won’t feature LaBeouf’s character, Mutt Williams, who appeared in 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Instead, Indy’s sidekick in this latest adventure will be his own goddaughter, Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Helena Shaw.
Even though Mutt won’t be appearing in the film, Mangold said in a previous interview that audiences would learn about where he is and “what happened to him,” according to Entertainment Weekly.
In the years since Crystal Skull, LaBeouf has been embroiled in a number of controversies, including getting arrested multiple times and being accused by his ex-girlfriend, musician FKA Twigs, of domestic abuse. However, even if LaBeouf’s reputation were intact, it’s doubtful he would’ve received the call back for Dial of Destiny, due to his character’s association with Crystal Skull, a film that is not highly regarded by critics or fans of the franchise.
Indiana Jones will commence his final adventure when Dial of Destiny comes to theaters on June 30.