Don’t Worry Darling is currently one of the most talked about films of the year. Directed by Olivia Wilde, the romance movie stars huge A-listers such as Florence Pugh from MCU fame, and Harry Styles. In the film, Pugh and Styles play the husband and wife duo Alice and Jack, but it turns out that Styles wasn’t Wilde’s first choice for her leading man.
Shia LaBeouf was originally up for the part of Jack. However, in an interview with Variety, Wilde revealed that she supposedly had to make the decision to let the star go and ultimately re-cast. According to the publication, Pugh allegedly told Wilde that she was uncomfortable with LaBeouf, and that Wilde made the call to fire the star from her set. “My responsibility was towards her [Pugh]. I’m like a mother wolf. Making the call was tricky, but in a way, he understood. I don’t think it would’ve been a process he enjoyed,” Wilde explained.
“He comes at his work with an intensity that can be combative. It wasn’t the ethos that I demand in my productions,” she continues. “I want him to get well and to evolve because I think it’s a great loss to the film industry when someone that talented is unable to work.”
However, LaBeouf has denied Wilde’s claims that he was fired from Don’t Worry Darling, and instead asserts that he quit the production due to the lack of rehearsal time with his co-stars. “You and I both know the reasons for my exit. I quit your film because your actors and I couldn’t find time to rehearse.” He wrote in an email to Variety regarding the Wilde article.
In said email, Variety alleges that screenshots and videos between the two were shared by LaBeouf. In one reported video, supposedly sent to LaBeouf before Pugh registered her concerns, Wilde encouraged the actor to stay on the production.
“You know, I think this might be a bit of a wake-up call for Miss Flo, and I want to know if you’re open to giving this a shot with me, with us, “Wilde apparently said in the video that was allegedly sent on August 19, 2020 – two days after LaBeouf claimed he quit.
“If she really commits, if she really puts her mind and heart into it at this point and if you guys can make peace — and I respect your point of view, I respect hers — but if you guys can do it, what do you think? Is there hope?”
Currently, the question of whether LaBeouf was fired or quit Don’t Worry Darling is still unresolved. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, LaBeouf was asked about the situation again but simply brushed it off, saying: “it is what it is.”
Don’t Worry Darling is set to release on September 23, 2022. Fans can next see LaBeouf in the drama movie Padre Pio which premiered on September 2 2022, during the Venice Film festival.