Frank Marshall Discusses Moving Forward with INDIANA JONES 5 Without George Lucas
Indiana Jones is one of my favorite movie characters ever created and he exists thanks to the creative mind of George Lucas. Disney and Lucasfilm have been planning to make a fifth film in the franchise and like Star Wars, they will be moving forward without Lucas’ help.
During a recent interview with ComingSoon, producer Frank Marshall opened up about Indiana Jones 5 and revealed that they will broaden the scope of the film. He also talked about moving forward without the involvement with Lucas, and he confirmed that he’s currently forming a writers room.
When asked if the idea for this next film was to broaden the scope of the filming because Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was shot almost entirely in the U.S., he confirmed that was the plan. Indiana Jones has always been a globe trotting kind of guy, so it makes sense that the film should should in various locations all around the globe. As for moving forward without Lucas on the project, Marshall said:
“I love being with George and having his input, but life changes and we’re moving on. He moved on. We’re very respectful of the original intentions of the movie, certainly Harrison’s character. The serialization of what the original intention was. I’d love to have George there. I love being around George and working with him, obviously. It’ll be a little different, because the ideas are coming from a different place now.”
Lucas has moved on, though, and while he may pop up for a visit to the set, I doubt he’ll be back for any big creative involvement. But, I personally wouldn’t mind Lucas being involved. Marshall goes on to say that he’s currently trying to get a writers room together and confirmed that Jonathan Kasdan (Solo) will be leading that room. He goes on to say:
“Well, I dunno if you’d call it a writers room, but a lot of people that we trust pitch ideas and things. Gathering info.”
Kasdan replaces David Koepp (Jurassic Park), who was originally supposed to write the movie. Steven Spielberg still plans on coming back to direct and, of course, Harrison Ford will reprise his role one last time. But, Spielberg did say that the franchise will “certainly continue” after Indiana Jones 5, which means they will probably set up a new character to follow in the franchise. I’m curious to know what their plans are, but at least it won’t be Mutt taking over.
Indiana Jones 5 is now set to be released on July 9th, 2021.