Shia LeBeouf IN, finally, on INDIANA 4

[AndyDursin]

At least they cast someone who you believe COULD be Ford's son...

Shia LaBeouf tapped for 'Indy 4' role
By Anthony Breznican, USA TODAY

Indiana Jones has uncovered a new sidekick.

Shia LaBeouf, the 20-year-old actor who stars in this summer's Transformers action thriller, has signed to co-star alongside Harrison Ford in the fourth Indiana Jones movie.

LaBeouf, whose Rear Window-style thriller Disturbia opens Friday is perhaps best known for his boyhood roles in Holes and the TV comedy Even Stevens. He has been the subject of speculation as an addition to the sequel's cast but was forbidden by director Steven Spielberg and producer George Lucas from revealing it until now.

"Up until about two weeks ago, it was little more than a rumor," he says. "Literally, when I was saying, 'I don't know anything,' I didn't know anything. It was an act of faith. I have not read a script. I don't think anybody has."

Spielberg said in an e-mailed statement: "Shia has extraordinary range. I think of him as 'the young man for all seasons."

Online fans are guessing Indiana Jones will have a son for this go-round, but LaBeouf says he can't confirm such plot points. Even the time-setting for the movie is a secret. "I can tell you I'm sort of the sidekick character, obviously," he says. "I'm sure there are a lot of laughs at my expense, and some kind of creature crawling on me."

LaBeouf adds, "It's not going to be Short Round, all grown up," a reference to the fast-talking little kid from 1984's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

The actor, who was born in 1986, says he first saw the films when he was a little kid in the early '90s after his father bought them on VHS. "We sat down and ran through them in a day."

Between this film and Transformers, LaBeouf knows he is taking on some icons of 1980s childhood. LaBeouf is hosting this weekend's Saturday Night Live, and they're considering a sketch making fun of "how I've stolen the thirtysomethings' kid dreams."

The long-planned fourth movie starts shooting this summer and is set for release May 22, 2008. Updates will post periodically on IndianaJones.com.

When he met Lucas recently at Spielberg's offices on the Universal lot, LaBeouf says he brimmed with questions but hit a wall of secrecy, even about the relic Jones will be pursuing.

"Lucas looks at you and says simply, 'I can't tell you that,' " LaBeouf says. "Then when he thinks he is supposed to tell you something but isn't sure, he gets up and leaves the room, goes in to talk with Spielberg and comes back and says, 'Nope. Sorry.' "