When Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, the majority of the $4.05 billion price tag was attributable to Star Wars and Disney's desire to create a brand new trilogy along with tie-in products and standalone movies. The Indiana Jones franchise, by contrast, has been gently bubbling on Disney's back burner. "Bubbling" might actually be an overly generous way of describing it; when asked about Indiana Jones 5 earlier this year, Disney Chairman Alan Horn responded bluntly, "We haven't done anything."
With Harrison Ford attached to Star Wars: Episode VII and Shia LaBeouf busy wearing bags on his head and insisting that he's not famous any more, there have been plenty of rumors indicating that Indiana Jones is about to be recast. One such rumor asserted that Bradley Cooper was the top pick, but later reports claimed that the talk of recasting was entirely false.
That won't keep good gossip down for long, however, and now British tabloid newspaper The Daily Star claims to know who the top pick for an as-yet unconfirmed Indiana Jones sequel is going to be: Twilight star Robert Pattinson! The Star's "Hollywood insider" says that Disney is interested in the long-term potential of the Indiana Jones franchise and wants to make movies followed by tie-in video games, "which can generate more money than movies." That last part is a bit suspect; while there are video games that make more than the average Hollywood blockbuster, those games are generally not movie tie-ins.
The article goes on to state that Pattinson is "at the top of the initial list" due to the fact that he has shown off his "acting stripes" outside of the Twilight franchise. Pattinson has since collaborated twice with director David Cronenberg, playing the lead in his 2012 thriller Cosmopolis and in Hollywood drama Maps to the Stars, which premiered at Cannes last month. He's certainly stretching his legs as an actor, but does that mean that a hat and whip lie in his future?
No, probably not. There's been no indication so far that Indiana Jones 5 has a story in place, let alone a script, or that Disney has any intention of making it in the immediate future. All of the previous recasting rumors have been debunked and British tabloid newspapers are generally not the most reliable source for Hollywood casting news. Either way, the article also cautions that Pattinson won't necessarily end up being cast because "the competition is stiff."
Probably the most shocking thing about this story is the Daily Star referring to the original Indiana Jones as "wrinkly Harrison Ford." That's just mean. He's not even that wrinkly.
UPDATE: No surprise, E! Online is reporting that, according to its sources, "there's no truth to the rumors" about Pattinson becoming the next Henry Jones, Jr..
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Source: The Daily Star
Update Source: E! Online