What happened to Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) in the Transformers franchise? Transformers: The Last Knight provided a clue to his ultimate fate.

What happened to Transformers' Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf), and is he likely to return in a future entry? Michael Bay was drawn to the original Transformers on the simple, relatable hook of the movie being about a boy and his first car; the fact the car was a transforming alien robot was simply a bonus. Shia LaBeouf was later cast as Sam Witwicky, the somewhat nerdy kid who gets unwittingly drawn into an intergalactic battle between the Autobots and the Decepticons. However, after the first three Transformers movies, viewers noticed that the former protagonist had left without a trace. This led audiences to ask: what happened to Sam Witwicky?

Sam Witwicky was the lead character of the first three Transformers movies, exiting after Transformers: Dark Of The Moon.  After Transformers 3, Shia LaBeouf never returned to the franchise and the series received a soft reboot with 2014's Transformers: Age Of Extinction. Mark Wahlberg was introduced as the awesomely named Cade Yaeger, a struggling inventor who - like Sam - is unwittingly drawn into the Autobot struggle. Cade later returned for Transformers: The Last Knight, but both Bay and Wahlberg decided to call time on their involvement with the franchise after that entry. The 2018 movie Bumblebee then served as another soft reboot featuring none of the previous human characters.

Shia LaBeouf, Mark Wahlberg, and Michael Bay all left the Transformers franchise, but they were not the first to do so. Shia LaBeouf's co-star for the first two movies, Megan Fox, left Transformers before the third film. What happened to Sam Witwicky is at least touched upon in Transformers 5, but it's doubtful that Bay and company thought LaBeouf would leave after the third Transformers movie given the success of the franchise. So, here's exactly what happened to Sam Witwicky and why actor Shia LaBeouf left the series.

Why Shia LaBeouf Left Transformers

While many wondered what happened to Sam Witwicky, the decision to leave was Shia LaBeouf's. During the press tour for Transformers: Dark Of The Moon, Shia LaBeouf stated that he would not be returning to the franchise, feelings that the character of Sam Witwicky had run his course, and with his narrative over would only grow stale if he returned. Since then, Shia LaBeouf has made it clear that his career is heading in a different direction and shunned appearances in big blockbuster movies. While it might be hard to define what a big blockbuster movie is at face value, the Transformers franchise definitely falls into that category.

Transformers 5 Explains What Happened To Shia LaBeouf's Sam Witwicky

Bay’s Transformers movies introduced increasingly convoluted mythology into the franchise, with The Last Knight really going for broke. The movie reveals King Arthur and Merlin teamed up with Transformers in the distant past to win a battle, with the Transformers gifting Merlin with an alien staff. In the present day, professor Edmund Burton (Anthony Hopkins) explains the Transformers have been helping humanity for centuries, and that Vivian Wembley is the last “Witwiccan,” a line descended from Merlin himself. This means only Wembley can wield Merlin’s (Stanley Tucci) staff and stop an impending Cybertron attack. With the odd mixture that took magic and machine way too far, it's no wonder that Transformers' Sam Witwicky wasn't too keen to return to the franchise.

Burton also explains the Witwiccan Order is a secret society of adventurers tasked with protecting this alternate history, and he shows photos of members of this society, including Transformers' Sam Witwicky himself. While speaking to Oxford Professor Vivian Wembley (Laura Haddock), he tells her that she's the remaining Witwiccan. He shows Vivian her family tree, which is basically one and the same as Sam Witwicky's, and includes his picture. Burton then tells her that she is the last surviving heir of Merlin. Since Vivian is the last of the Witwicky line, this implies that Sam died at some point between Dark Of The Moon and The Last Knight. This would be a pretty abrupt ending for the character, who previously survived death in Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen. That said, LaBeouf has been somewhat outspoken about the quality of the series since his departure, making it unlikely he would ever return to the role.

The Last Knight at least provides some closure for Transformers' Sam Witwicky, while leaving enough wiggle room for fans to argue he could still be alive. The Transformers movie doesn’t even attempt to explain what happened to Sam Witwicky or how he died. However, with Bumblebee officially rebooting the Transformers franchise, his presumed death is likely canon within the franchise's vast mythological universe.

Next: How Michael Bay’s Transformers Redeemed The Franchise’s Weirdest Toyline