Summary

• Shia LeBeouf left the Transformers franchise because he felt the movies lacked purpose and were irrelevant compared to more grounded stories.
• The franchise has moved on from LeBeouf's departure and has found success with other actors and spinoff movies.
• LeBeouf's career has been impacted by allegations of sexual battery and assault, making it unlikely that he will return to any big-budget franchise, including Transformers.

After starring in the first three movies in the massive franchise at Sam Witwicky, there are still questions as to why Shia LeBeouf left Transformers. Sam was the human hero who fought alongside Optimus Prime and the Autobots in Michael Bay's first three movies in the series. The Transformers films are still among LaBeouf's best performances at the box office — but the movie's commercial success was not enough to keep him interested in returning to the franchise. Sam does not feature in the later sequels, which naturally raised plenty of questions as to where the character had ended up.

The sudden disappearance of LeBeouf from the Transformers franchise was hard to ignore as he had gone from the main character in the series to only being briefly alluded to in Transformers 5 — and even then, only to suggest Sam Witwicky died off-screen sometime between the films. However, LaBeouf's departure from Transformers was already hinted at long before the fourth movie. While promoting Dark of The Moon, LaBeouf confirmed (via MTV) that he was leaving the franchise, saying "I just don't think there's anywhere to take it with Sam."

LaBeouf Thought The Transformers Movies Lacked Purpose

The Franchise Has Moved On Following LeBeouf's Departure

Along with suggesting his character had run his course, Shia LeBeouf left the Transformers franchise because he felt they were "irrelevant" (via Esquire) compared to more grounded stories. LaBeouf's acting credits following his departure from Transformers 4 prove that he is motivated to be part of more relatable stories that do not rely on CGI effects and roles that grant him creative freedom, such as his performance in the acclaimed Honey Boy.

As for Transformers, the franchise has continued to be a success without LaBeouf. Transformers 4, the series' highest-grossing film, replaces Sam with Mark Wahlberg's Cade Yeager. Wahlberg has also since left the franchise leading to several spinoff movies taking place earlier in the Transformers timeline with Bumblebee and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. The franchise will try something new in 2024 with the animated adventure Transformers One. This will also be followed by the confirmed Transformers 8 and Transformers 9.

While he didn't appear in Transformers 4, given Shia LaBeouf's star power and his importance to the series, he's not entirely out of the running for future installments — though the franchise would have to qualify why he isn't dead should he appear any time after Transformers 5.

Wahlberg's Cade Yeager vs. LaBeouf's Sam Witwicky: Who's Better?

The Human Characters Were Never A Big Draw In Transformers Movies

Both the Shia LeBeouf and Mark Wahlberg Transformers characters have strengths and weaknesses making for a debate among fans as to which is the better human hero in the Transformers universe. A key criticism of the Transformers franchise is its lack of intelligent and dynamic female characters, as well as Witwicky and Yeager's treatment of them.

After the first Transformers, the quality of the writing took a downward turn according to critics, adding legitimacy to LaBeouf's excuse for leaving. While Sam Witwicky was a great character, he was worse whenever he had a love interest. Starting in Transformers 2, Witwicky became more arrogant and more inclined to take people for granted, especially when it came to his treatment of Carly.

Cade Yeager faced similar problems in his treatment of his daughter, who spends most of Transformers 4: Age of Extinction occupying a damsel-in-distress role. His character did manage to poke fun at Witwicky's machismo as displayed in the previous three movies, but it wasn't really enough to strike up a favorable comparison.

Ultimately, the complaints Yeager was the same as Sam Witwicky, but older, held weight – the main Transformers movies never had a lead to match the stature and impact of the Autobots, and neither Witwicky nor Yeager had the long-term charisma the franchise needed. Shia LaBeouf was justified in making good his escape from the character and franchise.

Could Shia LeBeouf Ever Return To Transformers?

Allegations Against LeBeouf Has Put His Career In Question

Along with LeBeouf's own desires to distance himself from the Transformers franchise, the actor has since had his career sidelined due to allegations of sexual battery and assault by FKA Twigs. Though he has some acting roles on the horizon, including Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis, it is hard to see LaBeouf return to any big-budget franchise. There is also the problem that LeBeouf has nothing but bad memories of the entire time in the franchise.

LeBeouf was 20 when he joined the Transformers franchise, and he has since revealed the downside to appearing in a franchise this large. When picked to star in the role, LeBeouf had some smaller roles in his past and a successful TV show, but he has since said he was plagued by insecurity since he earned that role.

This is because, while the movies were hugely successful, they also had detractors and many of them focused on LeBeouf, who said that he took the complaints that he was a bad blockbuster actor personally. He said he was trying to find his confidence and skill set, and the Transformers movies made it very hard.

"I was 23, 24. I was a scared actor who thought he was sh*t. The world thought I was sh*t. It was sort of like, ‘Hey, he’s the Transformers kid trying to be a real actor over here.’ So I was bucking against my insecurity, I was desperate to prove myself."

However, the door is not closed on Michael Bay returning to the franchise in the future for a different direction, possibly taking his series of movies and moving them forward. LaBeouf has even said he loves working with Bay and would return to anything he wanted to do, but he doesn't see it going anywhere with Sam (via The Guardian). As such, the likelihood of seeing LeBeouf return to the Transformers franchise that made him a superstar seems minimal.

Key Release Dates

• 

  Transformers

  Created by:

  Hasbro

  First Film:

  Transformers (2007)

  Latest Film:

  Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

  Upcoming Films:

  Transformers One

  First TV Show:

  The Transformers

  Latest TV Show:

  Transformers: EarthSpark

  First Episode Air Date:

  1984-09-17

  Cast:

  Frank Welker, Peter Cullen, Corey Burton, John Stephenson, Jack Angel, Michael Bell, Dan Gilvezan, Casey Kasem, Christopher Collins, Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, John Turturro, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Mark Wahlberg, Hailee Steinfeld, Anthony Ramos

  Character(s):

  Megatron, Optimus Prime, Starscream, Bumblebee, Mirage, Ratchet, Ironhide, Jazz, Sam Witwicky