Indy 5 Indiana Jones & The Dial of Destiny All Aboard the Hype Train to June 2023!

Well, there's some indirect news that broke today...

Looks like after going through over 30,000 actors, Spielberg has found his core cast for his West Side Story remake project. The trades indicate that filming commences in summer 2019. If the original Indiana Jones 5 project proceeds with Harrison Ford, that would mean we'd probably see filming sometime in early 2020 or summer 2020, with some official news hopefully happening around the end of this year, or early next year. Spielberg also still has The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara floating around.

Some months ago, the official release date for Indy 5 was pushed back a year to July 2021.

 

I do wonder, how much they are paying Harrison Ford for this. He's getting old and wanted so badly to get out of SW. I wonder if that carried over to all Lucasfilm properties.

 

No, it certainly doesn't carry over. He has always loved playing Indy and has been a driving force in getting more movies done multiple times in the past. There is little reason to think that this has changed. They wouldn't even have announced a fifth Indy if it hadn't been for Harrison Ford being very interested in doing another one.

I also think his interest in getting past Star Wars is badly overblown. He wanted to try new things back then, not just play the same roles all the time, but if he was so desperate to stay out of Star Wars, he wouldn't have returned for RotJ (he only had a contract for ANH and ESB), nor would he have returned for TFA.

 

I have a feeling JJ Abrams will end up directing this, with Spielberg and Kennedy producing. We already know that Jonathan Kasdan is re-writing the script.

 

I've seen a pic of Ford wearing a T-shirt that says something like, "Yeah, I was Han Solo and Indiana Jones. I'm over it." So I suspect he did feel some burn out over his best-known roles.

 

I was under the impression the only way ford would do tfa was if he could do Indy v

And u doubt JJ Abrams will direct

 

Or he's just joking. George Lucas also wore a "Han shot first!" t-shirt in the past.

If you look at the making of material available, Harrison Ford has always been a driving force for these movies, there wasn't a time where he said "nah, not interested". There were even times we he clamoured for another one while Lucas said he couldn't think of a story and Spielberg was busy with other stuff. And again, Indy V wouldn't even have come up unless Harrison Ford was interested in making another one. This isn't something that Disney could just have pushed forward on their own, the rights to make sequels also hinges on Spielberg agreeing as well.

That certainly is a logical assumption. Doesn't have to be the case, but it certainly could be.

I also agree that this is something Spielberg will handle.

 

It was rumored during the pre-prdouction of TFA that Ford agreed to return as Solo, as long as he'd also be able to reprise Indy again in a future project (I think I remember reading somewhere that it was even for 2 possible Indy films, but who knows). I don't know if anything official ever came out of those rumors, but it's probably a given that Ford and his agent at least brought the subject up to Lucasfilm and Disney.

 

I think Indy V will no doubt go back to the roots, delivering an experience akin to Raiders and Crusade in terms of tone and story. I just have to wonder what the future of the franchise is, if this is in fact the last one Ford will star in.

The options I see are:

a) James Bond approach. Could work, but casting would have to be on point and would always run the problem of being compared to Ford. The man has been seen as the face of Indy for almost 40 years, going to be hard to shake that. Also, would you have it be set in the Raiders-era? Or make it a soft-reboot like how they approach the Bond films?

b) Have future installments revolve around his son/daughter, or his protege. Seemed to be what they hinted at with Mutt at the end of KotCS, though obviously that probably won't come to fruition. As to what happened to his character, they can just write him off as living his life somewhere or finally going to college like Indy wanted to, or something. If they want to go a more grim route, they could even have the film take place in the 60's and have him KIA in Vietnam. I don't think Indy will have another kid for the film, but I can see him having a new archaeologist in training that takes over his "business" so to speak. This option also runs the risk of not having the Indiana Jones brand name for future installments.

c) A rival becomes the new "Indy". Basically go full circle to how Indy become an archaeologist in the Last Crusade prologue. Indy basically handing the hat over to a young upstart, much like what happened to him.

d) Future titles revolve around young Indy. Now, we did have the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, but those took place during WW1 (so 1910's) and early 1920's-ish, if memory serves correctly. However there is the potential of having an entire 1920's-set series of films with a younger actor playing Indy in his late 20's, versus how Harrison played Indy in his 30's, early 40's. This would be a time before he had to deal with Nazis and the Reds, so you could play around with it being a period piece and have him fight outlaws, mobs, mafias, rich collectors, and the like. This would have a more reckless Indy, one who knows what he is doing but doesn't have the more calm and in charge demeanor of his older self. Personally, I think this is the best option, as you can keep Indiana but open the role up to a younger actor and make the role his own, not too dissimilar to the Solo movie. Obvious risk to that, is what Solo experienced box office-wise. Personally I REALLY enjoyed Alden as Han, but I get the feeling much of the general audience might feel adverse to seeing a different actor play Indy, but I feel this option at least feels like it can go over better than just straight up recasting him.

 

My main ask is that they do not remake any of the prior films.

For me, the best approach would be the Bond approach. Recast the character with a new actor, but keep the time period relatively the same. This is a pulp franchise, and it works best during the first half of the 20th century. Recast with a new actor, and set it in the same continuity with the current films, more or less during the 1920s-1930s. Indy is an adventurer, and there's plenty of adventures to explore, no need to remake past ones. Before this happens, though, I'd like for Ford to have one last film.

@El_Machete12 , I really like your idea of having Mutt KIA in Vietnam, not because I necessarily dislike the character, but it would be an era-appropriate way to write the character out, as more than likely Labeouf will not be returning.

 

I wouldn't mind if JJ Directed Indy 5 I am a big fan of JJ.

I actually tweeted John Kasdan tonight and asked him if he is still writing The Indiana Jones 5 script. I will let you guys know if he writes me back I will post the Tweet if he tweets me back.

 

The recast approach may be best, especially long term and also goes back to the origins of the characters and how Spielberg and Lucas wanted him to basically be America's Bond. I think recasting but having him still a bit on the young/green side would be the best middle ground.

Maybe have him exploring and going on adventures in his late 20's, while also pursuing his PhD. Would be a fun dynamic similar to him being a professor "by day", except he has to return to university to continue writing his thesis and teaching lower level classes as a young teacher. That could be a funny juxtaposition too, instead of having a class of adoring and interested students who respect him, it'd be a bunch of undergrads that hate his guts for always forgetting to grade papers or whatever.

And yea the Mutt KIA idea I had when I wondered when the film would take place, and realized it would probably be the 60s unless they think they can get away with doing another 50's-set movie nearly 12 years after filming KotCS. I see them probably going a different route, seems a bit macabre for an Indy story, though all the films have elements of darkness now and then. But the serial, pulpy-vibe of the film might be diluted a bit by having such a controversial, polarizing and dark time in American history as the Vietnam War in its optics.

 

Wonder if Indy will get his eyepatch in this one.

 

It'll get scratched out by a cat.

 

Um, but...isn't Harrison Ford in his seventies?? Is he going to be slashing that whip around from a wheelchair?

 

He was over 70 while shooting TFA, and looked just fine in that one, so what's your point?

I really don't know where this idea comes from that someone 70+ couldn't possibly be involved in such a movie. First of all, you have no idea how they portray the character in the movie, and secondly, the defining factor is health and fitness, not age. There are quite a few actors who performed just fine in action-movies at the age of 70+. Add the fact that the people involved very well know that you can't portray him like in the old movies, and I really don't see where the problem is supposed to be.

 

Agreed Ford could handle the role but it could be bookended with a younger actor like Chris Pratt or Bradley Cooper. Like his role in BR2049 a bit.

 

Chris are you high?

Why can't a 70 year old star in a film?

Your President is around that age I think

You guys no anything about ageism?

 

Ageism is low-hanging fruit type of humor for insecure people who fear growing older. Ford is in peak condition, not just for his age.

 

There will never be another Ford or Connery.

 

Jon Kasdan is no longer writing Indy 5 according to Jason Ward. Screenwriter Dan Fogelman is starting from scratch.

 

Interesting - Deadline has just announced that Fogelman has inked a massive deal with 20th Century Fox Television, which of course is part of the Disney Empire. No mention of Indy in the report, though.

I don't know if I'm entirely thrilled on the idea Jon Kasdan was using for his particular Indy script, but I'm sure it would have turned out ok. I do like what he did with Solo, and I'm very excited to see how the Willow sequel pans out. As for Fogelman, I think he has a couple of interesting projects, and then a few others that give me slight concern, but, perhaps his perspective is what this Indy needs right now.

What I don't get is why it's so hard to come up with scripts for Indiana Jones. It seems like this latest project has just been making the rounds, similar to Indy IV. I know they claim that Indy IV took so long because it took awhile for Ford, Lucas, and Speilberg to agree on a concept, but honestly, I'm just left somewhat confused. Indy is not super complicated. You can take a very a simple idea and make something special out of it. I feel that sometimes they're just overthinking this too much.

Anyways, as long as we get Ford back for one last time---and soon---I'll be happy.

 

With every update, I become less and less convinced this movie is going to happen. It was announced three years ago, and supposed to be released two months from now. Then it got pushed back to next year. Then it got a new writer and pushed back to 2021. Now it has another new writer, who's apparently starting from scratch. At this point, just scrap Indy 5, recast the role, and "James Bond" it. The further away you move from the pulpiness and adventure serial roots of the 20s and 30, the less interesting the concept becomes. Temple of Doom is set in 1935, and Indy apparently cut ties with the Ravenwoods in 1926; that's just under nine years where he's off having adventures on his own, from the age of 27 onwards, where you can tell stories without treading on the toes of Spielberg/Lucas/Ford's Indy films.

 

He was looking pretty old in TFA, and one scene where I thought Ford’s age was obvious was when they were at the door of Maz Kanata’s castle. As he turns to Finn and Rey, you can see his jacket riding up a bit of the back because he seems to have that old man’s stoop.

I still think a two-timeline movie could be great if written well, and by that I mean that an aged Indy bookends the movie with the McGuffin appearing in that era, but with flashback scenes using another actor to play the 1930’s iteration of the character chasing the McGuffin during that period. The precedent for this kind of thing was established with the opening of The Last Crusade.

That would then be a nice swansong for Ford, but at the same time introduce the new actor for further 1930’s set adventures.