Shia LaBeouf and Robert De Niro to team up for D.J. Caruso’s Spy’s Kid

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Here is a pairing that I would be intrigued to see. Robert De Niro is still a very capable actor who has chosen some lackluster roles lately. Shia LaBeouf is a budding talent looking to break out of the mold he cornered himself into with the TRANSFORMERS movies. What better way to get some careers back on track than with a movie featuring both of them together?

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film will be based on a series of articles published in 2011 that followed a father-son spy duo in a CATCH ME IF YOU CAN-like real life adventure. Here is the synopsis:

Jim Nicholson was a 20-year CIA vet who in 1996 was convicted of spying and sentenced to 23 years in prison, becoming the highest-ranking officer convicted of espionage. In 2004, his youngest son, Nathan Nicholson, began to seek solace and advice from his father in an Oregon federal prison after leaving behind a failed Army career and in a state of depression. The father raised his son’s spirits but also coached him in spycraft, in effect launching a second act of espionage from behind bars by using his son as a courier. In the ensuing year and a half, Nathan traveled the world selling secrets to the Russians, all the while getting deeper and deeper over his head.

A lot of people complain about LaBeouf as an actor, but I genuinely liked him in LAWLESS, EAGLE EYE, and DISTURBIA. D.J. Caruso, who directed LaBeouf in both DISTURBIA and EAGLE EYE, is close to signing on to direct SPY’S KID. He seems to bring out the best in LaBeouf’s performances, so maybe this will be a third win in a row for the pair.

De Niro was excellent in last year’s SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, so having him back in the forefront of a dramatic film instead of the comedy dreck he has been starring in the last few decades would be welcome as well. They just need to do something about that awful title. All I could think of was this is an odd pair of actors for a remake of the Robert Rodriguez 3D series.

Involvement from both actors and the director are contingent on the quality of the screenplay, which has yet to be written. There is also a book due to be released in the future. This may seem premature and may fizzle into nothing, but it is an intriguing film possibility if it does come to fruition.