Screen Rant is reporting that “Indiana Jones 5” has been pushed back to July 2020, when its star, Harrison Ford, will be 78, rather long in the tooth for an action role. However, he was old during “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” and seems to have kept himself fit, so there is every possibility that Ford will live long enough to make the movie, which will be directed by Stephen Spielberg.
Ford and Spielberg will have to do some making up with the fans due to the poor reception that the last movie got. To be sure, Indy had an adventure in the 50s and faced off against a saber wielding Soviet enemy played with scenery chewing zest by Cate Blanchett.
On the other hand, Indy became a victim of the tail end of McCarthyism, a remarkable feat for someone who could likely get Eisenhower on the phone.
Then there was the lame casting of Shia LaBeouf as Indy’s love child. Fans may be in luck if LaBeouf’s continuing mental health issues keeps him out of the movie. Let Indy have another love child, a daughter by preference, who can kick butt, however in no way resembling Lara Kroft.
Finally, need we mention “nuke the fridge?” We thought not.
No word exists as of this writing about who else will be in the movie or what the plot will be. This writer wishes that Spielberg brings back John Rhys Davies as Sallah, the loyal Egyptian compatriot from “Raiders” and “The Last Crusade.” Karen Allen needs to be back as Marion, mainly because she was one bright spot in “Crystal Skull.” Maybe we could also see an adult version of Short Round (albeit with a more politically correct name.) So we have Indy, Marion, Sallah, and Chinese man formally known as Short Round and daughter to be named later.
Plot wise, a lot of things occur to one. The movie would likely be set sometime in the late 1960s or early 1970s. One could tie the story into the Apollo program (Space Aliens?) or the Arab-Israeli conflict (more tomb monsters?) Why not combine the both of them, with Indy and company running into evidence of space aliens during a dig in the Middle East just as the Six Day War breaks out and then having to save the Apollo 11 mission to the moon from some ancient curse or some such thing.
Spielberg, if you’re reading this, this writer can work up a treatment for a good price, once the writers’ strike is resolved. If you like it, a screenplay would be possible if it can be worked into the schedule. Let’s face it. The script will go through a lot of changes anyway if past experience is any guide.
