SHIA LABEOUF - SHIA LABEOUF SAYS TRANSFORMERS 2 IS "JUST MASSIVE"

Transformers star Shia LaBeouf has claimed there's more than meets the eye to the sequel of the action smash hit.

Though pre-production on the robot movie had been delayed by the Hollywood writers' strike, director Michael Bay said recently he had conceived a story outline and with the end of industrial action in Tinseltown, scriptwriting can now begin.

And according to LaBeouf, the breathless set pieces of the first film in the franchise will pale in comparison to what Armageddon helmer Bay has planned for the follow-up.

Talking to Empire magazine, 21-year-old LaBeouf revealed that "pre-vizes" he had seen of mooted action scenes had convinced him the sequel is "going to be badass".

"We're not making another one unless it is, and Mike [Bay] is definitely not resting on his laurels - he's doing insane s*** again. And the pre-vizes that I've seen… it's just massive," he added.

"If the first one was any indicator of how massive massive can be, this is going to blow that out of the water. It's insane. Mike's mind was just kind of made for this – it's amazing."

LaBeouf, the recipient of the Orange rising star awarded at Sunday's Baftas, refused to give away too many plot points about Transformers 2 - set for a June 2009 release - but admitted: "There's gonna be new robots on both sides. I can say that the war isn't over.

"There's going to be a lot more characterisation with the robots, which I'm excited about," he continued. "I was a fan of Transformers before the movie came out. And there's going to be a lot of action… That goes unsaid, I guess."

LaBeouf stars alongside Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the first teaser trailer for which was released to eager fans on Valentine's Day.