Earlier this week, Disney confirmed what we all knew - a fifth Indiana Jones movie is coming and with Harrison Ford back as the world’s most famous fictional archaeologist. Steven Spielberg will be back to direct, too, so most of the gang is back. George Lucas, who co-created the character with Spielberg and co-produced the previous four films, will not be involved.
Perhaps without Lucas being involved, Indiana Jones 5 can avoid the things that made Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull a parade of bad moments. But does that mean a fifth one should still be made with Spielberg and Ford at the helm? If other franchises can survive with new creative teams - even Star Wars - what makes Indiana Jones so different?
The answer to the first question is no. It’s not that there aren’t new stories Spielberg could tell with the character, it’s just that Ford doesn’t have to play him. The classic example is James Bond of course, but Ford has been so linked to this role and Han Solo that no one has had the guts to try a new actor, even a proven hot commodity like Chris Pratt. So if Ford has to play the role and he’s already 77 by the time the movie comes out in 2019 and he can’t do the same things he did in his 30s (age has to catch up with a person at some point), then just don’t make the movie with him.
Or here’s an idea - if Disney wants to make a movie about an adventuring archaeologist, why not just create a new character! When Spielberg and Lucas came together for Raiders of the Lost Ark and wanted to make a movie inspired by classic serial adventures, they created a whole new character. Why not try to create a new one in that mold? It was a hit in 1981, decades after those serials were in theaters. If Disney is so convinced that audiences like adventure movies with archaeologists that have links to history (last I checked, those National Treasure movies did pretty well at the box office), then the studio needs to have the guts to create a new character.
Now on to the other question, why can’t Indiana Jones survive without Spielberg or Ford? I simply have no idea. In a world where Raiders is still hailed as one of the greatest films of all time, there have to be filmmakers out there chomping at the bit for an opportunity to work on it. Disney, you found a filmmaker that agreed to remake Pete’s Dragon! You should be able to find someone who wants to take a different stab at Indy and one who could bring in a new actor to play him.
If an Indiana Jones 5 has to happen, then a younger star has to be introduced to carry the mantle. Ford will be 77, which is far older than Sean Connery was in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Disney has so much money that it could afford a gamble like an Indy movie without Ford. Disney has to take a risk at some point after practically earning all the money back it paid for Lucasfilm just from Star Wars: The Force Awakens alone.
Maybe Indiana Jones 5 will be a good movie when it opens on July 19, 2019, but it doesn’t have to be made at all. No one owes us a good Indy movie after Crystal Skull stunk. There are already three good ones.
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