Why isn’t Shia LaBeouf in ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’?

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Fate Indy’s son, Mutt Williams, does not appear, but his absence does not remain inexplicable. [Spoilers ahead!]

Mutt, played by Shia LaBeoufwas introduced in 2008 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull like a 1950s bastard looking for his kidnapped mother and turning to everyone’s favorite archaeologist for help. indiana (Harrison Ford) helped Mutt reunite with his mother – only to realize she is his ex-girlfriend Marion Ravenswood (Karen Allen), who never told her former flame that they were expecting a child.

Despite Mutt becoming such a pivotal character in Crystal skullthe 2023 sequel does not feature LaBeouf’s character, despite taking place 12 years after their first meeting. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Fate – which takes place 12 years after the father-son pair met – reveals that Mutt died.

When Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller Bridge) asks Indiana where he would go if he was used Archimedes’ dialwhich is supposed to take people through time, says the explorer he would stop Mutt from enlisting in the army. He volunteered to serve in Vietnam, which Indiana said was just an attempt to annoy him. Mutt’s death was the beginning of the end of Indiana and Marion’s marriage.

Ahead of the film, which hits theaters on June 30, director directed James Mangold promised Weekly entertainment in December 2022 that viewers would “find out what happened to Mutt”. (The news broke five years earlier that LaBeouf would not be reprising his role.)

Earlier this month, Mangold, 59, explained that he was more interested in giving Indiana a female companion, who arrives in the form of his goddaughter, Helena.

“I think the point I had was when I came I wanted to capture that beautiful energy between Indy and a fearless female character,” Mangold shared. Variety prior to the film’s release. “So that was my first goal, and there are only so many people you can get in a picture.”

It may have come as no surprise to diehard fans that LaBeouf, now 37, was not invited to return after criticizing his installment of the franchise in a 2010 interview with the Los Angeles Times.

“I feel like I dropped the ball on the legacy that people loved and cherished,” LaBeouf said at the time. “If I did it twice my career would be over. So this was fight or flight for me. It’s the actor’s job to make it come alive and make it work, and I couldn’t do it.

He added: “I will probably get a call. But he needs to hear this. I love him. I love Steve [Spielberg, director of Crystal Skull]. I have a relationship with Steven who replaces our corporate work. And believe me, I talk to him often enough to know I’m not out of line. And I would never despise the man. I think he’s a genius, and he’s given me all my life. He’s done so much great work that he doesn’t have to feel vulnerable about one movie. But if you drop the ball, you drop the ball.”

Ford, now 80, famously chided LaBeouf for openly taking pictures of their film. “I think I told him he was a king’s idiot,” said the Star Wars said actor during a performance in 2011 Today. “As an actor, I think it’s my duty to support the film without making a complete fool of myself. Shia is ambitious, thoughtful and talented – and he is learning how to deal with a situation that is very unique and difficult.”

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Indiana Jones and the Dial of Fate is in theaters now.