Say what you will about Shia LaBeouf, but the actor has had some pretty incredible roles in the past, and one of his best was in the World War II drama Fury. Directed by David Ayer, the film centered on a US tank crew that undertakes a deadly mission behind enemy lines where they are outnumbered and outgunned.

A few years after its release LaBeouf went on to do many artful projects while Ayer signed on to write and direct Suicide Squad. And somewhere in between that time, it seems that LaBeouf was offered to play a role in the film, a role that ultimately did not go to him. Find out which one below.

So far, Warner Bros.’ film entries in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) have come up a bit short of expectations, with both critics and audiences alike disappointed in the studio’s most recent offerings, Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad.

After these movies were critically panned and audiences were less than thrilled, fans and those involved in the filmmaking process were quick to defend the respective films citing that they wasn’t made for critics. An easy argument to make, especially when films like these get completely railroaded by critics. To be fair, the two did make a decent amount of cash at the box office, but they both also saw huge drops in their respective second week — Batman v Superman fell 69% in its second week, just a few percentage points more than Suicide Squad‘s 67%.

Suicide Squad: The Official Movie Novelization
Paperback | Kindle
Based on the Warner Bros. Pictures film written by David Ayer
Based on the characters from DC Comics
Written by Marv Wolfman
Publisher: Titan Books
Release Date: August 9, 2016

Suicide Squad, a Warner Bros.’ summer 2016 tentpole, was one of the most highly anticipated movies of the year, with standout stars like Will Smith and Jared Leto, fan-favorite DC Comics characters like Harley Quinn and the Joker, and the promise of a cameo from Ben Affleck’s Batman. But once Suicide Squad hit theaters in early August, it was critically panned and many fans voiced their disappointment with the new DCEU offering’s out-of-sequence storytelling, non-compelling villain, and the lack of Leto’s Joker, the latter of whom was used heavily in the marketing of the film.

Not enough Joker in the film? Yes, that’s definitely true. Joker’s presence in general as well as his twisted romantic relationship with Harley Quinn are what fans were clamoring for the most. Leto recently spoke up to say that he didn’t know his role was going to be reduced to a glorified cameo and that enough footage was captured of his character to make a full Joker movie. Having read Suicide Squad: The Official Movie Novelization, it does appear that there was much more Joker-Harley story to tell, as well as plenty other aspects left out of the final film.

There are plenty of reasons why Warner Bros. should be happy with Suicide Squad‘s box office performance last week, but also plenty of reasons why they should be worried. Despite a $135 million weekend opening, the film saw a 40% drop off on Saturday and another 20% drop on Sunday. Experts are saying that while David Ayer‘s film will probably get the number one spot again, it most likely stands to see a 60% – 65% drop from last week, according to THR. As the numbers continue to decline at such an alarming rate, more reports are coming out about how studio interference may have done more harm than good and how some of the actors were displeased with the lack of screen time they got despite how much footage was shot.

It’s not something we haven’t seen before, especially when it comes to WB trying to figure out what to do with the DCEU. But as more and more reports come out, a scathing open letter written to CEO Kevin Tsujihara reveals that the future of the DCEU is in more trouble than we’d like to think. More on the story below.

Three films into the DC Extended Universe and the cinematic comic book shared universe has built somewhat of a reputation for putting out bad movies, or movies that will be negatively criticized by critics. Some say these critics have been paid by Marvel Studios – if you believe in such a conspiracy – while others just want to believe that DCEU films get a bad rap. No matter how you slice it, we are still going to get films based on DC characters, at least until 2020. So hopefully by then Wonder Woman would have steered the DCEU ship into the right direction or at least save it from sinking itself.

It’s still hard to believe that Suicide Squad shares the same criticisms as the previous two DCEU films. But John Ostrander, the creator of the comic the movie is based on, believes that critics had it out for the film since the very beginning. More on the story below.