Uh oh.
Harrison Ford spoke with the LA Times today revealing that George Lucas is thinking up a story for the next installment to the Indiana Jones franchise. Harrison says:
“It’s crazy but great”
Well I for one, think the opposite.
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It’s not crazy because Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull made a ton of money. George Lucas likes said money and likes continuing his two biggest franchises (even if they are getting worse by doing so).
It’s also not great because Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was the worst of the four movies in the series, and I can’t imagine another one being much better then the last. Look at where we were left off - with a marriage, a kid called “Mutt”, and aliens… the more I repeat that and think that this is Indiana Jones and all of that actually happened… I want to hit my head on the desk. It wasn’t an awful movie by any means, but I didn’t think it was great either.
On the bright side, Harrison Ford said that he is against doing an animated Indiana Jones.
“I’d hate to see it reduced in any way from the movies that we have done and the way we have done them.”
The key word being “reduced.” I wish he said this before The Clone Wars came out. That being said, the fact that that was animated was the least of its problems.
As much as I love the original Indy trilogy, I don’t think George currently has the right target audience in mind. We all saw what happened with the Star Wars prequels and then, even unimaginably worse, with The Clone Wars. It seems there’s not been much credit given to what once was and why it was so successful for all age groups in the past. There’s a reason everyone loves the original Indiana Jones and Star Wars movies and why its not the same with the newer versions.
Why can’t we get the quality of old? It seems they’re just running through the motions now that they have a massive brand name and audience. As long as it’s called Indiana Jones starring Harrison Ford, here comes a half-billion dollar paycheck.
In a previous Screen Rant article, Jamie posed a question about the possibility of an Indiana Jones 5. In it, he brings up the point that money does talk. A lot of people thought upon hearing of the fourth installment, that it would be the final sendoff of the character. But no, if the character is alive, and the movies bring in a fortune then of course there will be a sequel. He also brings up the important point that even if a movie is hated, it can still make tons (i.e. Spider-Man 3, The Da Vinci Code, Pirates of the Carribean 3). Oh and look, ALL of those movies have prequels/sequels coming out.
It’s too bad these big movies are about quantity over quality. An Indy 5 would no doubt make a huge profit. I predict however, that it will make less than the previous simply because there are many disappointed fans out there now.
We have absolutely no information on story, cast or anything and I’m already a little worried. I would love to see the franchise end on a high note and return to its roots in terms of style. How about you?
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on DVD and Blu-ray hits shelves on October 14th. And if you were one of the few souls who enjoyed it, don’t miss our Indiana Jones 4 Special Edition DVD Giveaway!
Source: Los Angeles Times
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45 Comments
Of course they pay more attention to the details when they’re not sure anyone will pay to see it. George Lucas believes visuals are the movie. He thinks working on script, acting, plot, and(cough,gag)character development take too much time and money and he certainly doesn’t want to waste money and time like he wastes ours. I’m ranting. How can he not just let Spielberg run it? It baffles me to no end.
Good grief!! Is’nt 4 of these movies enough!?
might there be a pattern to the quality of the Indy movies?
this is how I rate the movies
Raiders = great
Temple = Decent
Crusade = Great
Crystal = Decent
Might Indy five equal greatness? I am willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. although I won’t be sticking around for
Mutt Williams and the Last Fedora.
How will they continue? I am almost sure that Lucas will want to continue with Shia afterwards.
“Mutt Williams and the Temple of Neverending Sagas”
Indy 4 the weakest of the films? Maybe it’s just me, but I thought that Temple of Doom with it’s ridiculously shallow plot, useless love interest/plot device (whose only purpose seemed to be to nullify Indy’s skills and experience so even the most obvious traps and cliches could snare him), and continual racist subtexts made it by far the worst of the batch. And this is before I even mention Shortround, who is far FAR too similar to Jar-Jar Binks for comfort. Maybe it’s because I saw this film as an adult and don’t have any of the fond memories that I do of the first and third or the nostalgia factor of seeing the fourth in the theater, but it would take a lot more than Indy hiding in a fridge to spoil the franchise for me more than that second movie did.
Title: “The Geriatric Adventures of Indiana Jones”?
Der
“I like Ike”
Yeah, I know. Lucas has a way of messing things up.
Doesn’t he realize that it just won’t be the same without Indy? None of us want to see Indy riding shot gun either, and Mutt doesn’t exactly have anything going for him except Knife twirling, fencing and fixing bikes.
“Mutt Williams and the Temple of Neverending Sagas”
that does sound like something Lucas would call a movie
“Star of the month and incredibly ridiculously long movie titles” coming soon to a theater near you!
I’m one of the few who didn’t object to the last one involving aliens.
Rather, I simply objected on the grounds that the story that got told involving the aliens was really bad. It was haphazard, misshapen, slapdash; it lacked any semblance of a coherent story.
So yes, while I could envision aliens entering into an Indy story, I still hated the guts out of it.
I’d have less problem if they actually just wanted to focus on the character Mutt (needs to develop a better nickname) and leave Indy to his retirement. One of the brighter spots of the dim film was Shia’s portrayal of the character. He’s got the chops to handle his own franchise, which could be successful if actually given a story worth telling on the big screen.
The one thing I’m finding more and more repulsed by is forcing another film out focusing on Indy. When you have to CGI him using his whip, the magic has left the building - never to return.
Maybe this time Indy can search for George Lucas’s soul,if he still has one.
@Joseph
Yeah, I’ve tried to sit through Indy 2 recently (I have the set on DVD) and just couldn’t do it. It’s pretty much unwatchable to me now.
But damn… Indy 4 did bring us “Nuke the fridge.”
Vic
So, whats the ultimate Final Indy story?
I vote for Indiana Jones Reboot with Nathan Fillon as Indy!
Personally I like the idea of Edward Burns if they do a reboot, Nathan Fillon would be good though too.
I think it’s time to get back to basics and REALLY FOCUS on what made the original so great and engraved in the minds and hearts of those who seen it for the first time.
That’s my 2 cents.
Vic,
Couldn’t disagree with you more on Indy 2. I still don’t get the hate some have for it. Watched it recently still found myself transported and thoroughly entertained as I did when I watched it as a kid in theaters. It’s not like the first in tone, obviously, but that’s not necessarily a negative, and in retrospect, it had a simple, straightforward plot compared to IV, which is 90% of what movies in this genre really need to achieve their goals.
Right on Joseph you hit the nails on the heads!
Ahh Vic glad to see you reflect. That’s what it takes. Doubters, take an afternoon off and watch them back to back! Four is better than two. Mind you, I’m not saying how much better.
Now Ford gets to step into Connery shoes and you get the full circle motif that Campbell talks about. Father to son, father to son, grandfather to grandson!
To be honest, my favorite Indy HAS to be Indy 2!!! It’s got it all for me… the mystery, the supernatural, the adventure.. the humor it was just excellent! Heck, even on my PS3 Indy Lego Game, that’s my favorite part of the game. I love that game by the way…
Indy 5 is pushing it…
For me it’s like Lucas just can’t step out of his comfort zone… keeps doing the same… The only difference with Indy is that, that franchise happens to have some of it’s genes from Spielberg and he’s not willing to let it all go to CGI hell… like Star Wars ended up…
Now, that’s not to say, I didn’t find it a tad strange that the mythical monkeys only known to a very few people actually made a screen presence in Indy 4… namely the very elusive, yet über unrealistic breed of CGI monkeys… Meh… those gophers sure made me and my girlfriend look at each other with a big question mark on our foreheads… But still… Indy 4 was OK… I’m going to buy it on BD anyway.
Anyone else hear about Lucas’s big passionate fighter pilot movie will be directed by Natalie Portman? Is this for real?
And Ergo Proxy, I think you mean Red tails right? I wanted to write something for that but didn’t have the time.
I say give it a chance if Spielberg takes the reins and writes the script. It’s really possible to have Indiana Jones do so many things because there’s so many interesting things out there in archeology. The potential is there for a lot of really great stuff and even though it’s uncharacteristic of Lucas to really dive deep into a story rather than it’s visual elements, one never knows, he may just surprise us.
I’m mostly reserving judgement based upon Harrison Ford’s comment. He’s well know for being judgmental. If Harrison uses the word “Great” to describe a script idea, I’m going to side with him on it until absolutely proven otherwise.
There’s no word that Spielberg will be involved with this at this point in time.
Vic
And if that remains the case, because this sounds still rather preliminary, then we’re going to see a lot of eye-candy and a lot less meat on the bones. Still, if Harrison says the plot idea is “great” I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
@ Master Keyes,
Rob, you are so correct… it’s Red Tails… but my mind went to a galaxy far, far away at 5am last/this morning…
Thanks for correcting me…
Please do an article on it when you have time, I’m interested in what Lucas’s involvement will be in that feature.
PS. Had Natalie ever directed before? If not, isn’t this a tad too big of a project to throw her in? Lucas must LOVE Natalie for letting her do this.
Well.. I’d like to say this (Insert Harrison Fords own voice here) I HAVE A BAD FEELING ABOUT THIS…
Ok, I liked indy 4, but it wasn’t that big a deal… an Indy 5 would be a tad too much… I want all the lame CGI animal cameos to be banned from future Indy movies…
Some may say it’s for the kids with all the silly animal CGI humor… but then I’m sure that those kids who’s been treated this kind of humor is around 8 years old or less… and then some scenes in the movie WERE NOT meant to have the 8 year old present.. like the ending and how the Russian woman died.
So… I’ve come to see that as being Lucas’ stamp of his own humor and being that Spielberg and him are good friends, Steven just let it be there.. or maybe he edited so much out of it that we’re luck it was ONLY that in the final cut.
Lucas is an odd man… If he was an animal he’d probably wish to be Howard The Duck…
Regarding Indy 2: After the amazing character that was Marion played with such spunk as Karen Allen, to introduce a blonde ditz of a woman played annoyingly by Kate Kapshaw was a HUUUUUUUGGGGEEEE disappointment to me.
Oh and the introduction of the annoying “Half-round” just compounded that.
Sorry, but that’s my opinion.
Thanks goodness for Indy 3 as a follow-up.
Vic
@ Vic,
He he he he he,
it’s ok, to be honest, I’m more nostalgic and I might disagree with my comments after seeing it again… I’ve not seen it for ages, but the feeling I had for Indy 2 was that it was just so much fun. Though, I might be less enthusiastic about today than I was back then, but my emotional memory says it was a great movie. I did like the texture, the adventure and comedy in Indy 2. Also the use of other than Biblical themes, made it more enjoyable for me. Though I love Indy 1 and 3 as well, I just welcomed something new and fun.
I think what worked for me in Indy 2 was the fact that having Half-round and Willie as Indy’s side kicks, added another side to Dr. Jones… a more comedic and fun side that was good. Between one and three, there’s not much change in Dr. Jones… though it helped to have his dad join in, which added the other side to Dr. Jones. But in Indy 2 it gave us a little more.
Meh I don’t know.. I liked All Indiana Jones movies… I will even welcome Indy 4 into my Blu-Ray Collection.
I just hope they’ll release the old ones soon…
Parts of Indy 2 were fun for me.
But I didnt like the scenes involving the thugee sacrifices or the drugged Indy .
that wasnt pure pocorn fun ,
That was VERY DARK .
@Ergo
There has been more than one TV show or movie that I’ve rewatched recently that did NOT live up to my memory of it from years ago.
@Gary
Yeah, I agree. I do believe Indy 2 was the FIRST movie to garner a PG-13 and that scene had something to do with it.
Vic
I enjoyed Indy 2 but it was definately not on the same level as 1 nor 3; I felt 4 was the worst so far. I wouldn’t mind a 5th but please, no CGI animals. I didn’t mind Shia as an addition but the name Mutt just doesn’t fit. If Lucas wants to cater to the kids, then make a cartoon and leave the real Indy films for the adult viewers.
Hey Kahless?
Maybe Mutt has a grandchild later on, via his daughter’s interracial marriage to someone with the last name of “Broadus”…said grandson, Calvin, becomes a rapstar who calls himself Snoop Doggy Dogg?
I’m going to be getting Indiana Jones 4 on the Oct. 15th, and I’m really excited about it. I’ve watched half of it, and I thought it was great. Harrison makes the story-line good, no matter what it is. And I hope that they make number 5 soon.
Pam,
I’m sure they’ll make the 5th soon enough…
We can just hope that Lucas won’t hold back the project like he did last time…
I’ve gotta bad feeling about this…
I just wish Lucas would stick his head in the Ark of the Covenant and have avenging angels carry him into the purifying flames.
For the love of all that is good and pure please stop this insanity. I was a die hard Indy fan, was until Indy 4. I agree that things like script, and plot and character development are no longer in Lucas’s realm of reality and Speilberg must have been asleep at the switch. George forget it please you don’t need the money anyway.
MATMAN
@PhotoShopLifter Dan
How about Snoop Puppy-Pup?
For you I will try
It’s too late for the story I saw, but if there’s more news down the road I’ll try writing something for it.
I would appreciate it very much Master Keyes…
Vic, totally agree on the Karen Allen thing, but Temple of Doom is a prequel of sorts to Raiders. It was based a year before so that’s why the characters are different.
I don’t think most people know that it’s a prequel - I didn’t till last year
I really like most of Temple of Doom, but the last time I watched it the squealing screeching Willie Scott really got on my nerves. The screenplay isn’t all that great, but the action set-pieces fill in the blanks very nicely.
number 5? nah i’ll give it a miss. number 4 killed it for me. i’ll wait for a new original idea movie, From a classy director such as james cameron. who puts plot and character depth within his movies. Something george lucas lost years ago when money and cgi took over his mind. Unless of course, steven speilberg takes the reigns with both hands and brings back the soul of the original nail biting RAIDERSOF THE LOST ARK.
if lucas wants cutsey pie cgi animals. DONT touch the indy movies. Instead make another EWOK adventure or whatever. Dont turn indy into a day time kiddy flick tele tubby marathon. No more C.G.I. PLEASE!!!!!! PLEASE!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!
Too late.
INDIANA JONES 4 WAS MY SECOND FAVOURITE OF THE SERIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I GROWP WITH INDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SO PLEASE SPIELBERG,LUCAS AND FORD MAKE A FIFTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
INDIANA JONES FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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