Shia LaBeouf Joins Cast of Francis Ford Coppola's New Film Megalopolis

Shia LaBeouf is among the list of new actors joining the cast of Francis Ford Coppola's new film Megalopolis. On Wednesday, it was announced (via Variety) that LaBeouf will be one of six actors joining the film, which has a self-financed budget of $100 million and is being described as Coppola's passion project. Also joining the project are Coppola's sister and nephew, Talia Shire (The Godfather) and Jason Schwartzman (The French Dispatch), as well as Grace VanderWaal (Star Girl), Kathryn Hunter (The Tragedy of Macbeth), and James Remar (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood).

The plot of Megalopolis largely remains under wraps, but the film is reportedly set in an alternate reality version of New York City dubbed "New Rome. In the film, the fate of Rome haunts a modern world unable to solve its own social problems in this epic story of political ambition, genius and conflicted love. The cast for the project also includes Adam Driver, Forest Whitaker, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jon Voight and Laurence Fishburne.

This news comes after a recent string of headlines concerning LaBeouf, who has not appeared in a high-profile project since being sued in 2020 by his former romantic partner, FKA Twigs. The lawsuit, which has yet to go to trial, accused LaBeouf of sexual battery, assault, and infliction of emotional distress, alleging that he physically abused her multiple times and nearly choked her to death. These allegations led to LaBeouf leaving his management agency CAA, and reportedly underwent inpatient treatment.

"I hurt that woman," LaBeouf said while appearing on Jon Bernthal's podcast Real Ones. "And in the process of doing that, I hurt many other people, and many other people before that woman. I was a pleasure-seeking, selfish, self-centered, dishonest, inconsiderate, fearful human being."

Most recently, conflicting reports have come to light regarding LaBeouf's exit from Don't Worry Darling, the Olivia Wilde-directed film set to arrive next month. While it had initially been reported that LaBeouf was fired due to the aforementioned accusations, he has since denied those claims, and has shared email messages and texts allegedly between himself and Wilde.

What do you think of Shia LaBeouf joining the cast of Megalopolis? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!