Progress on 5th Indiana Jones film continues with Ford still attached.
When Disney bought out the majority of Lucasfilm, one key character that seemed to be pushed into the background at the expense of the Star Wars was that of everyone’s favourite archaeologist, Indiana Jones.
For a while rumours circulated of a new, younger actor picking up the bullwhip with many tipping Chris Pratt to be the man for the job. These murmurs were soon silenced by the announcement that Harrison Ford would once again play the man in the hat, with the film series’ director Steven Spielberg also returning for the characters fifth outing.
With Ford being well into his 70s it’s almost a foregone conclusion that this is likely to be his last hurrah as Dr. Jones and it seems likely that another actor will take on the role further down the road as opposed to a “son of Indy” continuation of the story. Indy 5’s screenwriter David Koepp recently confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that he is now in the process of finishing off the script and confirmed that Mutt played by Shia LaBeouf in the fourth film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, will not be in the new film;
“Harrison plays Indiana Jones, that I can certainly say. And the Shia LaBeouf character is not in the film. We’re plugging away at it. In terms of when we would start, I think that’s up to Mr. Spielberg and Mr. Ford.”
Whilst it seemed a safe bet that LaBeouf would not be returning after his recent form dipping due to his ongoing curious behaviour getting him in the limelight for all the wrong reasons, there was always the possibility of another actor taking the role.
LaBeouf did little to help his chances of remaining in the role when he told the L.A. Times in 2010 of his dislike for the fourth Indy film saying that he had “dropped the ball on the legacy that people loved and cherished”. He went onto claim that Harrison Ford didn’t care much for the fourth installment either, to which Ford replied shortly afterwards, that his then co-star was a “fu**ing idiot” for making such a comment.
Little is known of the plot for the fifth instalment in the series and it’s fair to say that the writer was holding his cards close to his chest when asked for details of what artefact Indy would be chasing after this time;
“[It’s] some precious artifact that they’re all looking for. I know we’ve got a script we’re mostly happy with. Work will be endless, of course, and ongoing, and Steven just finished shooting The Post …. If the stars align, hopefully it’ll be his next film.”
Indy 5 was originally scheduled for release in July 2019 but that was subsequently changed to Summer 2020. Whilst no official explanation has been given for the change, many people have speculated that the recent upheaval during the filming of the Han Solo movie may have had a knock on effect.