Indy 5 In the Works…From Fox?
Even before the ridiculousness that was Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was in theaters, there was buzz on the blogosphere that an Indy 5 wasn’t out of the question. I think most of us assumed, of course, that Indy 4 would have to do well or be well-received in order for that to happen.
A source has informed pause.com that Indy 5 may in fact be in the works, but that it would be coming from Fox and not from Paramount. Hit the clicky thingie to read more…
Now, let’s just think back a couple of years, to when The Clone Wars was released by Warner Bros. and how everyone figured that Fox had passed on the movie because it was so bad (and the general concensus was, in fact, that Clone Wars was all sorts of not good).
Here we are then a year later and this info comes to us, making me all sorts of worried for a number of reasons.
In my opinion, Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of the greatest movies ever made. It was full of action, adventure, tension and it took itself seriously and pulled it off. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, while darker, was also a very good movie (if you ask me) although nowhere near the caliber of the first film.
Then came Indy 3, which I loathed. Despite the fact that I’m a big Sean Connery fan, I didn’t need the role of Indy’s father to be stunt-cast, and, to make matters worse, Marcus was now a bumbling clown and, oh yeah, the story was boring and lame.
So when we all heard that Indy 4 was being made to apologize for Indy 3, there was hope. Hope that was nuked like a fridge as soon as we saw the movie. I think Indy 4 was actually worse than Indy 3, and I didn’t think that was possible.
And now Indy 5 may be in the works, and from somebody other than Paramount, the studio that’s been releasing Indiana Jones movies for, what, 28 years?
There could be a couple reasons for this: First is that Paramount is now duly scared off from the last two Indy outings, for which nobody would blame them. The second reason, which is even scarier, is that Spielberg might not be directly involved, and he may have handed Indy 5 over pretty much lock, stock and barrel to George Lucas, who’s taken the film to Fox due to his long-time relationship with them. On the surface, this may seem like an iffy answer, especially given that Fox didn’t even want Clone Wars.
But still, there are many years and billions of dollars to consider in the Lucas / Fox relationship, so Lucas taking the film to Fox might not be that outlandish. Further, when you consider how bad Indy 4 was, and that Spielberg has said in the past that “those kinds of movies” aren’t really in him anymore, it’s not out of the question that he might just tell his pal George to run with it.
The new worry, then is that Lucas will make an Indy 5 that’s, and I shudder to think this, even worse than Indy 3 and Indy 4. Put together.
Your thoughts?
June 10th, 2009 at 11:22 pm
Hey Lou I’m with you, down with Indy put him to rest and let it go, now having said that I know I know Star Wars is over. But there are 3 more stories that lucas can make into movies… now its a long shot maybe even longer than a 5th Indy. But what he should do with his new production Studio he is building is start thinking about making the new Star Wars trilogy. I also think he should not direct, he should produce and let the director make his ideas come to life just like the original, 4,5, and 6. He shouldn’t do it right away he needs to focus on the TV series that he is making than when that gets underway start writing.
I think David Fincher, Tony Scott, and James Cameron would be dream directors for the jobs. Now I am getting all excited about a new Star Wars, I will just wait for the TV series. anyone have any good SIFI TV series on TV I should watch or be watching? let me know.
June 11th, 2009 at 12:55 am
I just don’t know if I believe that Lucas can still make a good Star Wars film. I think he’s too much of a control freak to let somebody else handle it.
Yeah, sure, if somebody could give us three new movies that feel like ‘Empire’ did when it first came out, I’d be all over that in a heartbeat.
And I think Indy still has legs, as a franchise. I just don’t know if Harrison Ford can be convincing anymore, and if they keep it going with Shia, it’s gotta be more serious.
The thing about Indy in Raiders is that he was seasoned even though he was still young-ish. He was already a professor and he had obviously been on a lot of adventures already. I just don’t know if Mutt can pull off the same level of character with a straight face, given his boyish look and voice.
Plus, if Indy 5 does in fact happen, I really hope it’s dirty, gritty, grainy or whatever it has to be to feel like the first one. I’d say get Doug Slocombe or Vilmos Zsigmond to shoot it, but they’re, you know, kinda up there in years (although Zsigmond’s still working). Peter Suschitzky’s still doing good work…maybe he could lens it. But it still needs a director, too. Irvin Kershner hasn’t worked in over 15 years as far as I know. Bummer. Who else? Doug Liman? John McTiernan?
Also, please refer to all sci-fi as SyFy from now on 😉
June 11th, 2009 at 3:49 am
Sci-fi. Always has been, always will. Not SyFy or SiFi, but Sci-fi. Science Fiction, get it. Not Syence Fyction. Hope you understand. Now do things properly.
BTW: Indy 1 and 2 was good, but 3 was a waste.
June 11th, 2009 at 7:32 am
I love Crystal Skull and I fail to understand the pretentious contempt it has received. It was no more ridiculous than any of the other Indy installments. Don’t believe me? Go back and review the first 3 films and you will start to understand that Crystal Skull fits in seamlessly. These films are an hommage to the cliff-hanger films of the 30s and 40s, they’re supposed to be silly! I know every one of you will watch Indy 5 if it’s ever made so please, enough with the faux outrage.
June 11th, 2009 at 7:34 am
I say give the new film to someone like Danny Boyle and see what he can do with it. You want a serious Raiders film and someone like him can do it. It’s difficult to take any of the “recent” (and by that, i mean in the last 20 years) action film directors serious because they’re all starting to make a mockery of themselves as well. I’m an action movie guy, no matter how bad, and even the big name directors have run out of steam in the last few years.
Raiders will always be my favorite movie of all times. I saw it 28 times in the theater. Yes, 28. I was young and had a man crush, but it was also an outstanding movie that’s stood the test of time. While i enjoyed Indy 3 more than 2 (enough with all the screaming), 4 was preposterous. So much so that i considered getting up and walking out. And that’s not easily said for someone who was a hero of mine when i was younger.
Taking the series in the direction of Mutt seems understandable, but even when Shia plays grumpy and tough, its still a stretch to see him in that Indy role. Harrison will never be properly replaced in my mind which is why it disappoints me to see them talk about doing a 5th film.
Who cares about Lucas and Speiley. They need to hit the retirement home and be done. I love scifi as much as the next geek, but it has no place in a Raiders film. Eastern mysticism is fine, but get rid of the aliens.
June 11th, 2009 at 9:00 am
@Charlie – Just having some fun at SyFy’s expense 😉
@Jeff – I’m not outraged, I just think it’s a bad movie. Yes, there are implausable things in the first two movies and yes, they ALL deal with paranormal issues. I don’t have a problem with either of those elements.
The biggest reason I didn’t like Indy 4 is that I thought the story was lame. I actually don’t mind that there were aliens in the story, but I just didn’t care about it. I mean, calling something “the ultimate evil” doesn’t really threaten anything when there’s nothing to back it up. In Raiders, the mystery of the Ark played to its advantage, because although we didn’t know whether or not (until the end) the mysticism surrounding the Ark was real, we did know that if it WAS real, then what Hitler was going to use it for would be devastating. That was something we could all relate to.
Plus, the relationship with Marion was pre-existing and tortured, and there was genuine chemistry between them in a way that is seldom seen in action movies.
As I said, the film took itself seriously. It took its time to set up the story elements in all the right places. There was a civility (and vulnerability) to Belloch that made him a great villain. As he said, he and Indy were thinly separated, just on opposite sides of the fence.
All of these things, as well as excellent, understated set design and brilliant cinematography, made for a classic film that’s as watchable today as it was nearly 30 years ago. You could believe you were watching events that might have happened at the time they took place.
You’re probably right in that most Raiders fans are likely to at least consider going to see Indy 5, but I haven’t ever seen Clone Wars, and I’m a huge Star Wars fan.
@Strich – I don’t blame you for seeing Raiders 28 times in the theater…if I could have at the time, I would have heh.
I definitely think Lucas was done after Jedi, personally. Spielberg, I’m still hoping will come back with something incredible. One last hurrah. Just one more movie that makes us feel the way we did after seeing Jaws, Close Encounters, ET or Raiders.
I just want one more movie like that, now, to spawn a whole new generation of films that get it right.
Is that too much to ask?
June 11th, 2009 at 11:37 pm
Harrison Ford took a helluva lot of convincing to do Indy 4. Despite how he obviously wanted to regain his box office clout, I don’t think he’d submit to an all-Lucas fiasco. This franchise has always been equal parts Lucas, Spielberg and Ford, which is partly why it took so long to get Indy 4 made. How much time do you need to whittle away at Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg the idea that aliens and fridge nukings will be workable in an Indy film? About 17 years…
As for Paramount feeling burned twice in a row, that’s just fanciful thinking from a bitter fanboy. I think most people really enjoyed “Last Crusade,” and Paramount did make money off of “Crystal Skull,” and had plenty of bragging rights when it came to market share because of it. I do not see them letting the franchise go lightly – they are notoriously franchise-protective (hence the continued attention to Star Trek and Mission: Impossible.)
June 12th, 2009 at 8:06 am
Jeez you guys have a pretty low threshold for what constitutes outrage and bitterness…I’m neither outraged or bitter about any of the Indy stuff I don’t like, just disappointed.
Raiders set a ridiculously high bar for “that type of entertainment”, so I expect the other movies in the series to live up to that, which I don’t feel the last two did, in any way.
I definitely know what you’re saying about how long it took Ford to come back to Indy, but then again, if you were Ford, is THAT the script you’d have come back for? I’d say it had more to do with the fact that they knew people would go see it, and that he hasn’t been cast in much else lately, than anything else. (and I’m mostly a Harrison For fan, so don’t think I’m knocking him in general).
You’re absolutely right about Paramount’s franchise-protective mentality, which is why I was surprised by this info as well. But my source described some actual, physical collateral, so it’s hard to dismiss out of hand (for me).
June 12th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
I say spell it however you want to it all good. I think everyone has a great point about the Indy series but if they are going to make another I doubt seeing it live up to the Indy of the past. I think it all has to do with money and technology, they worked with what they had and I think it has a sense of nostalgia because it was great back in the day and it still holds up even though it was fake. Like Lou said the bar was set so high for that time it still holds up today. But Indy 4 just didn’t use that bar it made its own and came up with a half decent Indy film. I think they need to make more of a history channel action Indy, rather than a SIFI Indy. all I’m saying is that I want another Indy that is great so we call all be happy with the LAST Indy.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
NO Indy movie will ever live up to Raiders. Plain and simple. Not the second or third or anything else they put out. It set the standard and rarely will any later movie live up to the original. And the more CGI and special effects you add to make it cooler, the less it will be like the original.