Here’s today’s shocker: Megan Fox’s contract has not been picked up by Paramount for Transformers 3. Perhaps this is what Michael Bay meant by cutting down on the spectacle this time around?
Deadline broke the story first, with word that, despite her appearing on the set to shoot previsualisation footage for the movie, it would appear Bay doesn’t want her back.
There have been some fractious words between the pair, with Fox comparing acting for Bay to working with Adolf Hitler (subtle!) and Bay shooting back a smarmy message about welcoming her back to the franchise with a caveat that she might get sick. Their respective PR teams have tried to pass it off as a joke, but it would appear that was a smokescreen for some true hostility.
We doubt the honest truth will come out for some time, but an insider source did blab that, “Giving Shia a new love interest makes more sense for the story.” Said story has been pumped out by Ehren Kruger, and Bay is now shooting with Shia LaBeouf, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Patrick Dempsey, Alan Tudyk and more aboard.
Of course, now all we need to do is wait for the set reports to come rolling in for theories to start up that this is all a big joke on Michael Bay’s part and that, like his claims about Megatron last time around, she will indeed stalk into the plot.
Somehow, though, this all feels a bit more real. So cast your guesses: will Bay go with some even fresher young ingénue to replace the Fox, or will he pick an established talent to make us believe they’re in love with Shia?
Update:** **Well, that didn't take long - The Wrap is now reporting that Gemma Arterton is the front-runner to replace Fox, and that she's already been in discussions about a role. Models Bar Rafaeli, Miranda Kerr and Brooklyn Decker are also all said to be in the running.
Update Part Deux:** **Now, according to HitFix's sources, Fox walked from the film, which would sort of tie in with the fact that she turned up to do the pre-vis shoots. It did seem odd that an actress would be called to do work like that if the director/studio had decided to let her go. The truth, we suspect, still might lie somewhere in between...