Indiana Jones 4 would have looked a lot darker and different if M. Night Shyamalan had gotten his shot of writing and directing the film. It took 19 years after the original trilogy for the adventure-loving archeologist, Henry Jones Jr., to land another sequel in theatres. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is Steven Spielberg’s fourth installment in the series and managed to gross over $790 million in the box office.
In Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Harrison Ford and Karen Allen both reprise their roles from Indiana Jones's first installment, Raiders of the Lost Ark. While the fourth movie excelled in the box office, it did not fare so well in regards to the opinions of many moviegoers. Outlandish car chase scenes, incredible abilities to survive nuclear blasts, and the introduction of aliens were more than enough to make a large faction of audience members speak out. These issues were only magnified by the introduction of Indy's son, Mutt Williams. Although Mutt's character didn't sit well with everyone, he did offer an opportunity to insert quite a bit of comedic dialogue in the film.
These lighthearted moments probably weren't in the picture when Shyamalan spoke with Spielberg about his ideas for the fourth Indiana Jones movie. In a recent interview with Collider, the director talked about a time when he was able to discuss his vision for Dr. Jones. It is evident by his comments that his take would have been drastically different from the sequel audiences are familiar with today.
Oh, my God. I mean, it was fantastic. Obviously, Raiders of the Lost Ark is my favorite movie of all time, and so this was a dream, to be asked as a kid to go see a movie in a movie theater and then later to be asked by that person to write one of those in the future. I could faint at that moment. It was amazing. I do have my notebooks; I still have those with all my ideas for that movie. I did have a take. I talked to everybody involved and it was so nascent at that time, that movie. Everyone hadn't gotten into a room yet. They were bouncing ideas off of me. So everyone had different ideas of what to do. When you say that, I have in my head, it's a green notebook, and I had this idea. It was a darker idea.
Shyamalan didn't indicate what his ideas concerning the sequel were, but it is no surprise his version of the movie would be quite darker. He has built a name for himself, making dark and suspenseful movies that generally contain some unforeseen plot twist near the end. It is a bit difficult to imagine what Indiana Jones would look like if it followed the format of Shyamalan's other flicks like The Sixth Sense, Signs, or Glass. One can only wonder what type of alternate ending for Indiana Jones is scribbled in his green notebook.
Shyamalan's ideas about Indiana Jones 4 will stay confined to his pages since a fifth movie is already being filmed. Ford will again bring the fedora-clad adventurer to life as an older version of the character, a fitting concept considering Ford has already been injured in the first bit of production. Since the film is still in early development, it currently doesn't have an official title or even plot revealed. Whatever the case, there are no signs that M. Night Shyamalan is involved in the upcoming film, so his dreary future for Indy will have to wait.
Source: Collider