Just when it looked like Steven Spielberg was getting ready to move forward with Indiana Jones 5, the film has been pushed back and now seems to be in jeopardy.
The good news: no one has made any kind official announcement that the film is canceled or anything like that. In fact, just the opposite — they’ve just announced the Jonathan Kasdan, son of original Raiders of the Lost Ark and Star Wars writer Lawrence, has been hired to rework the script for Indy 5.
The bad news: The fact that Indiana Jones 5 needs to be rewritten at all isn’t necessary a good sign. The film had already been pushed back from it’s original July 19, 2019 release date to July 10, 2020, but now it won’t even be able to hit that.
Then there’s the actual talent involved. Spielberg, as we all know, is a busy man. He’s got a number of different projects in development — including a Blackhawk movie for DC — which means his schedule is already incredibly busy. He had previously announced Indiana Jones 5 was going to be a priority, but, with these recent changes, he’s now moving ahead with his West Side Story remake instead.
Harrison Ford, on the other hand, isn’t quite as busy these days — another problem. If, in theory, Indiana Jones 5 were to come out in 2021, it would likely shoot in 2019/2020. At that time, Harrison Ford will be 77 or 78 years old.
We don’t know what, exactly, the script would have Ford doing, as they’ve been talking about having Chris Pratt or Bradley Cooper be the next to dawn the whip in some kind of reboot/reimagining/whatever we’re calling it, but he’s still not getting any younger.
On top of that, throw on the fact that Lawrence and Jonathan Kasden recently teamed up to write Solo — which, regardless of how you feel about the quality, certainly wasn’t a hit at the box-office.
So, basically, Indiana Jones 5 is facing all kinds of production problems. Disney hasn’t pulled it off their calendar or announced a new release date yet, as they seem to still be pondering what their move will be.
If I had to guess, this version of Indiana Jones 5 will be canceled. The three-year timeframe is too long, Spielberg is too busy and, quite honestly, I don’t think Ford’s heart is it in anymore.
That being said, I could still totally see a reboot coming in the near future with a different actor in the lead role, so maybe we aren’t *actually* done with Henry Jones Jr. just quite yet.
What do you think about this news? Is Indiana Jones 5 going to happen? Do you think Harrison Ford will return? Let us know in the comments below!