The real reason Megan Fox was fired from the Transformers franchise

It became clear that Paramount planned on taking its blockbuster Transformers franchise in a new, far more subtle direction from the moment the trailer for 2018's Bumblebee dropped. "The trailer leaves behind the Michael Bay-isms of the previous installments and instead offers sense of earnestness," The Hollywood Reporter noted. The critics overwhelmingly approved of this more contained approach to a Transformers movie (per Rotten Tomatoes), but forgetting the Bay days won't be easy — just ask Megan Fox.

The Tennessee-born model-turned-actress played Mikaela Banes in 2007's Transformers and the first sequel in the long-running franchise, 2009's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The following year, she was fired and replaced with inexperienced British model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (via The Guardian). The war of words that followed did irreparable damage to Fox's reputation and her career suffered as a result. She was still able to make a living as an actress, but her days on the A-list were well and truly over.

Fox was being hailed as the new Angelina Jolie at the time (via The Telegraph), though her stock fell dramatically in the wake of her very public departure from the Transformers franchise. But what really went down behind the scenes? Did Fox deserve to be let go, or was she treated harshly by Hollywood? Here's the real reason she was fired.