Shia LaBeouf seems to be leaving the franchise game behind in favor of smaller, character-centered dramas. Next year alone will see him in both The Company You Keep and The Wettest County in the World, with Horns still coming down the pipeline. Variety tells us of another project in something of that vein, this one a currently-untitled “quirky love story” from Monster House director Gil Kenan. Lava Bear Films — overseen by David Linde, Tory Metzger, and Adam Rymer — will make it their inaugural film, and The Jim Henson Co. will also produce.

The project, going under the working title of A Giant, is centered on “a girl, broke and running from a series of bad relationships, who moves back home to reconnect with her brother.” In lieu of her sibling, she ends up bonding with LaBeouf‘s “20-foot-tall man-child who lives next door,” and this is presumably where the romantic elements come in. Now, quirky isn’t an area I’m well-versed in, but I’d assume that being in a relationship with a 20-foot-tall man-child would constitute such a thing.

For Lava Bear Films, attaching a big star like LaBeouf as the lead of your inaugural production is certainly a smart way of helping it get to the finish line. Also of assistance is the company’s close ties to Linde, who has a working history with Universal; therefore, the studio looks like a possible destination for the film.

So long as they don’t make the film into some kind of bizarre comedy about giant-human sex (it’s late as I type this), I’d be interested to see LaBeouf do something that’s not only dramatic, but also physically challenging to him as an actor. Even as someone who likes the guy, it’s fair to say that running around and yelling isn’t the most difficult of work for a thespian. Something like this could help him disprove critics, although internet commenters will probably continue to hate him for no discernible reason.

Are you up for seeing LaBeouf in a more dramatic and unusual role?