Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. We know Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg are returning for Indy 5 (something I'm hugely in favor of if only because I have faith they're calling a mulligan on Crystal Skull) and it was recently confirmed that George Lucas will be back creatively, too. That's a natural. Spielberg has said many times that he wouldn't make an Indy movie without George, so when Indy 5 was announced I just assumed George was back anyway. I don't have any inside info on this, but I'd bet Spielberg is front and center creatively, while George enjoys his retirement. I'm sure Spielberg will still collaborate with George, but my gut tells me this one is Steven's show.
But what's next? Disney has Indiana Jones now (it was part of the Lucasfilm deal) and they're not gonna want to just make one more movie in this franchise. Bob Iger did a big interview with THR and discussed their plans.
Here's the segment on Indy:
THR:You have another Lucasfilm property, Indiana Jones, and Steven Spielberg has agreed to make a fifth film. Will there be an Indiana Jones universe, eventually, like Star Wars?
Iger:Not like Star Wars, no. But we hope … right now, we're focused on a reboot, or a continuum and then a reboot of some sort.
THR: Reboot? You've got Harrison Ford for this movie, and then the presumption is there will be a younger …
Iger: Well, we'll bring him back, then we have to figure out what comes next. That's what I mean. It's not really a reboot, it's a boot — a reboot. I don't know.
THR: THR has been using the term "requel" for these sequels that reboot the franchise.
Iger: Requel. (Laughs.) We [got] Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in the film. But then what's the direction? I've had discussions about what the direction is, [but] I don't want to get into it.
THR: But you do see making more films?
Iger: Yes, I do. I don't think it reaches the scale of the universe of Star Wars, but I see making more. It won't be just a one-off.
So, that's a confusing way to say that they want to make more Indiana Jones movies, but they don't know exactly how they're going to go about it just yet.
I think it's safe to say Indiana Jones 5 will be a for real sequel. Spielberg said he will not recast Indiana Jones in any movie he makes and I expect him to stick with that, but I also don't expect him to make any more Indy movies after this next one.
It's worth noting that Iger never said he wanted films in the Indiana Jones world and didn't specify spin-offs, so I doubt we're going to get Indy's Kid: The Movie.
Back when I talked with Kevin Feige on the set of the first Captain America he said they were toying with the idea of splitting future Captain America movies between WW2 and modern day, with the WW2 adventure being more than flashbacks, but a compliment to the current mission Cap was on. They never went in that direction for Cap, but it occurs to me that would be a pretty sly way to make an Indiana Jones movie with both Harrison Ford and a new, younger Indiana Jones.
That probably won't be Indy 5, but I could see them going in that direction for 6 and introducing a new Indy. Let's face it, Disney will want the fedora, the whip and, more likely than not, Nazi bad guys. That's a way for them to "reboot" without betraying what came before.
That's how I'd do it, anyway. What do you folks think?
-Eric Vespe
”Quint”
quint@aintitcool.com
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