When Disney bought Lucasfilm in late 2012, it was to acquire the rights to the extremely lucrative Star Wars franchise, but one of the other properties it purchased in the deal is the rights to Indiana Jones. There’s been rumors of a fifth Indy film ever since Kingdom of the Crystal Skull premiered in 2008 (and that film was nearly 20 years in development heck), but now we’ve heard from Steven Spielberg.
Speaking with Yahoo Movies, Spielberg pointed out that both Harrison Ford and Tom Hanks are now tied with the amount of films he’s directed them in. Here’s what the director said he would need to do to break the tie:
Now, I’ll probably do an Indy 5 with Harrison, [so] it’ll be five for Harrison, four for Tom… I’ve got to make another one with Tom, that’ll be five for Tom, five for Harrison. And I think I’m going to leapfrog that way for the rest of my career. With Daniel Day-Lewis in everything else!
Now I take this with a grain of salt, as it seems that Spielberg was just joking, but he could be serious about a fifth film. Disney chairman Alan Horn said last year there was no movement on the property, but this year Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy did say that we would get a fifth film sooner or later.
One thing they both have reiterated is that there is no story or script, so even if there is movement on a new Indy film it won’t be ready for another few years.
Meanwhile, Ford isn’t getting any younger at 73 years old. His age hasn’t stopped him from reprising his famous roles in both Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, but even if they fast-track film he’ll likely be in his late 70s by the time it goes to shoot.
Indiana Jones was originally conceived to be a James Bond-like series mixed with the adventure radio serials from the 30s. At this point I would rather they reboot the franchise in the same way that Bond does with a new actor playing the part every few movies. The producers just recast without drawing any attention to the series being restarted (Casino Royale, not withstanding).
Although another part of me really wants Spielberg and Ford to give it one more shot after the huge letdown that was Indy 4.
Of course, I haven't even mentioned the rumors from earlier this year that the hugely popular and red hot Chris Pratt could take over in a rebooted Indiana Jones. You can read about that here.