Shia LaBeouf is in final talks to star in Transformers, the DreamWorks/Paramount Pictures live-action adaptation of the 1980s Hasbro toy line of giant robots, says The Hollywood Reporter.
Michael Bay is directing the movie, which is being produced by Angry Films’ Don Murphy, Tom DeSanto and Lorenzo di Bonaventura. Steven Spielberg is executive producing.
In Transformers lore, the robots are divided into two groups: the Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, who believe in tolerance and the sanctity of life; and the Decepticons, led by Megatron, who espouse survival of the fittest and the extermination of biological life.
LaBeouf will play Spike Witwicky, an 18-year-old on the lookout for his first car. When he buys one, he discovers it is actually an elite sentinel for the Autobots.
The original script is by John Rogers, while Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci penned the most recent draft.
Hasbro’s Brian Goldner also is executive producing.
The movie, which has a July 4, 2007, release date, is set to start shooting in Los Angeles in May.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
