Shia LaBeouf is sitting out the next Indiana Jones adventure.

The actor, who starred in the long-running franchise's fourth movie, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," is no longer set to reprise his role as Indiana Jones's son, Henry "Mutt Williams" Jones III. LaBeouf was expected to return for "Indiana Jones 5," but screenwriter David Koepp has revealed to EW that the actor is "not in the film."

We don't know the reason behind the decision, but the news isn't entirely shocking. LaBeouf caused a stir in 2010 when he made negative comments about 2008's "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" in a Los Angeles Times interview. Although he only blamed himself for not having been able to "make it come alive and make it work," Harrison Ford didn't appreciate his co-star's lack of support for the film. (And that's putting it mildly -- Ford called LaBeouf a "f--king idiot" in a 2011 Details interview.)

Now that LaBeouf is out, there is room for Jones to have a new protege, but it remains to be seen what will happen. All we know so far is that Ford is returning as the titular "Indiana Jones 5" character. Koepp was vague when teasing the plot, simply revealing that Jones will be on the hunt for a precious artifact.

At this point, the screenwriter has finished a draft of the script that he says they're "mostly happy with," and he believes that production could start soon. Scheduling is difficult, though; Ford and director Steven Spielberg remain in high demand.

Let's hope they can fit in another whip-cracking adventure soon.

[via: Entertainment Weekly]