Shia LaBeouf will once again star in The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman, the actor's long-gestating project that once had Zac Efron attached to star.

Now set up at Voltage Prods. and Bona Fide Prods., pre-production has begun on the film, which will be directed by acclaimed commercials director Fredrik Bond, from a Black List script by Matt Drake (Project X).

The gritty pulp romance will find Shia LaBeouf playing the title character, a normal guy who falls for a woman who has been claimed by a violent crime boss.

Scheduling issues have kept Shia LaBeouf from the project, which he initially joined back in April 2010. With Shia LaBeouf's calendar clearing, the actor decided to follow through with his original plan to star.

No production date has been set.