Francis Ford Coppola has added a few familiar names to his big-budget project, Megalopolis. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Shia LaBeouf is expected to appear in the film. Grace VanderWaal, Kathryn Hunter and James Remar have also reportedly secured roles in the high-profile, indie film. Adam Driver, Forest Whitaker, Laurence Fishburne and Jon Voight previously secured roles in the picture.
“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 film’s logline reads.
Francis Ford Coppola’s decision to cast Shia LaBeouf in his latest film has drawn a bit of attention. Within the last few years, LaBeouf has found himself in the crosshairs of the legal system more than once. In 2017, he was arrested in Savannah, Georgia for public intoxication and disorderly conduct. While interacting with officers, he allegedly went on a “profanity-laced racial” rant. Ultimately, he was sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to seek assistance to manage his anger and substance issues. More recently, he was sued by his ex-girlfriend, Tahliah “FKA Twigs” Barnett, for sexual assault and battery. The lawsuit also claimed LaBeouf exhibited abusive behavior toward another former girlfriend by the name of Karolyn Pho. Later, he admitted to being “abusive” to himself and those around him “for years.” However, he has denied sexually assaulting FKA Twigs.
“I was a pleasure-seeking, selfish, self-centered, dishonest, inconsiderate, fearful human being,” he said during an interview with Variety in August.
Shia LaBeouf took a hiatus from acting, but returned to appear in the forthcoming film, Padre Pio. With that said, Megalopolis will be by far his most high-profile placement in recent memory.
