Shia LaBeouf has spent the last few years starring in numbered movies: Indiana Jones 4, Wall Street 2, Transformers 1-3.  Now that he's one of the most powerful young actors in Hollywood, LaBeouf looks to be branching out into less sequel-heavy fare.  He has the period bootlegging drama The Wettest County in the World in the can, and is currently filming the political thriller The Company You Keep with director/star Robert Redford.  Though LaBeouf has suggested he's ready to dive back in for Indy 5, the latest project he signed on to is unique enough to counteract any cinematic karma.  Variety reports LaBeouf is attached to star in a love story going by the working title A Giant.  Written and directed by Gil Kenan (City of Ember), the film centers on a girl who moves back home to reconnect with her brother and forget a series of bad relationships: "Instead she forms a relationship with a 20-foot tall man-child who lives next door, to be played by LaBeouf."A Giant is the first project that David Linde (Biutiful) and Tory Mertzger will shepherd under their new production company Lava Bear Films.  No distributor is on board yet, but Universal is in pole position due to Linde's relationship with the studio.  More after the jump.In support of my thesis, LaBeouf was reportedly a frontrunner for Fox's new adaptation of Frankenstein, but passed in favor of A Giant.  I support that choice, because Frankenstein doesn't need LaBeouf's help to exist---for something less marketable like A Giant, LaBeouf's involvement makes all the difference.  I am very eager to see who they cast as the female lead.It sounds like A Giant could be up next for LaBeouf after The Company You Keep, but the in-demand actor has plenty of projects to choose from, including:

  • Pinkville - a Vietnam War drama based on a true story, directed by Oliver Stone
  • College Repbulicans – a comedy/drama set in the university days of Karl Rove
  • The Associate – an adaptation of the John Grisham novel about a young lawyer; Tony Scott is attached to direct
  • Horns – an adaptation of the Joe Hill novel about a a 26-year-old who awakes one morning with horns growing from his head