Shia LaBeouf's Sam Witwicky was nowhere to be seen in Transformers 4 (Transformers: Age of Extinction), leaving many to wonder what happened to him.
Amidst his rise to stardom, LaBeouf played the leading role of Sam Witwicky in Michael Bay's first three Transformers films. Going from awkward high school kid to slightly less awkward working professional, his exploits with the Autobots against the Decepticons became legend in the 2000s action movie landscape.
However, the franchise underwent major changes, including co-star Megan Fox's departure after only two movies. Soon after, Sam's place in the saga was affected as well.
Did Sam Witwicky Die?
After starring as Sam Witwicky in Michael Bay's first three Transformers films, Shia LaBeouf did not return to the role for the following two films.
Transformers: Age of Extinction did not mention Sam at all as the story continued naturally from the events of 2011's Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Still, while fans saw the relationship between the U.S. government and the Autobots deteriorate, Sam was not part of the story.
The only other mention of Sam came in Bay's next Transformers movie, 2017's Transformers: The Last Knight, which features Mark Wahlberg.
That movie explained that Laura Haddock's Vivian Wembley was the last remaining descendant in the Witwicky family tree. Anthony Hopkins' Edmond Burton touched on the Witwiccan Order and showed Vivian this history, including a picture of Sam Witwicky that confirmed his death.
How Did Sam Witwicky Die? Fan Theories Explained
After starring in multiple highly criticized Transformers films, Shia LaBeouf's Sam Witwicky died at some point during the next two films. The big question is how exactly that happened.
One theory explains that he was killed by Cemetery Wind, a CIA black ops unit created after Transformers 3 to hunt and kill Autobots.
Also of note is that Optimus Prime, after being awakened in Transformers 4, seems to yell out, "Run, Sam!" before coming to his senses in Cade Yeager's barn. While he may have simply been groaning in pain, that dialogue teases that he remembered something terrible happening to Sam before escaping an ambush.
Considering Sam's consistent brushes with death in the initial Transformers trilogy, seeing him perish off-screen would not be a huge shock. This is particularly true after LaBeouf expressed feelings that Sam's journey in those movies had ended, as he did not want to play the character again after Transformers 3.
All seven live-action Transformers films are streaming on Paramount+.
