Surely not? Kathleen Kennedy argues that Indiana Jones is not entirely off the table – but nobody’s interested at the moment. Hmmm. The talk ahead of the release of Indiana Jones & The Dial Of Destiny was that it was going to be a swansong for the title character, a fifth and final outing for ... Indiana Jones 6 | The door is held slightly open for another movie
Surely not? Kathleen Kennedy argues that Indiana Jones is not entirely off the table – but nobody’s interested at the moment.
Hmmm. The talk ahead of the release of Indiana Jones & The Dial Of Destiny was that it was going to be a swansong for the title character, a fifth and final outing for Harrison Ford’s adventurer. When the film then came out and, er, ‘fell below standards’, its relatively poor box office performance appeared to confirm that Indy’s time on the big screen was done.
But is it? Almost certainly so, I’d suggest, yet outgoing Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy has indicated to Deadline that “these are timeless movies, and Indy will never be done.”
Granted, she’s being asked the question, and so is giving a relatively rounded answer. But still.
She confirmed what was pretty well known, that Harrison Ford was the driving force behind getting the fifth movie going. “I don’t think Indy will ever be done, but I don’t think anybody is interested right now in exploring it.”
It’s unlikely Disney will be particularly interested certainly, having paid out the best part of half a billion dollars to get the last film made, and not seen a return for its investment. It’s a shame that it felt like such a monumental franchise ended on such a whimper, the last two films notably down on the three before. The audience appetite, surely, has taken a hit.
And yet Kennedy, asked straight out if she thinks another movie is a possible, argued “you never know.” Which is true. But she also adds that “we are all still here, Steven [Spielberg] and Frank [Marshall] and I, and Harrison and George. So we get to say whether there’s going to be any more, or not.”
It feels like an incredibly long shot though. Still, there’s surely some mileage in a lower budget, tighter film. Imagine a $50m, brass tacks adventure, that doesn’t continually feel like it’s trying to top the last one? It won’t happen, but if there’s any way forward again for Indy, then surely it’s to go smaller, not bigger. Or simply to let someone else have the money and have a go…
