Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull screenwriter David Koepp admits it might have been a mistake to include aliens in the 2008 sequel. Harrison Ford first appeared as Dr. Henry Walton “Indiana” Jones, Jr. in George Lucas and director Steven Spielberg’s 1981 classic Raiders of the Lost Ark before reprising his role in Temple of Doom and The Last Crusade. The latter ended with Indy riding off into the sunset, which appeared to signal the professor/archaeologist had hung up his whip for good.
Nearly two decades later, Spielberg and the then 64-year-old Ford returned with Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Taking place during the Cold War, the film saw Dr. Jones search for the legendary Crystal Skull of Akator in Peru. It aimed to bring the franchise back to its roots with returning characters like Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) while also setting it up for the future by introducing Indy’s illegitimate son, Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf). However, Kingdom of the Crystal Skill is largely considered to be the franchise’s worst installment, with an alien-hunting adventure devoid of what made the originals so successful. Now, the film’s writer has opened up about the controversial decision to make the titular skull that of a cliché-looking extra-terrestrial.
In a recent episode of the Script Apart podcast, Koepp (Jurassic Park) discusses the fourth Indiana Jones film’s inclusion of interdimensional beings. The writer explains he was never necessarily a fan of the idea, and even tried to convince Spielberg and Lucas to abandon it. Read the full quote below:
"I was never happy with the idea [of including alien-like creatures in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull]. When I came on, I tried to convince [director Steven Spielberg and franchise co-creator George Lucas] to change it—I had this other idea. They didn't want to change it.
"I'm not saying mine would've been better. But I think that a lot of the pushback that movie got, in a larger sense aside from little things people might not have liked—that were too silly or whatever—the larger one was that [fans said] 'We don't feel like aliens should've been in an Indiana Jones movie.' Fair enough, in retrospect, you're probably right [laughs]."
Koepp doesn’t reveal his alternate idea for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’s MacGuffin, saying he’d prefer it remains "this misty, ethereal thing that's probably brilliant" in fans’ imaginations. Given the legacy of Indiana Jones, expectations for the fourth film were gargantuan. However, it strayed away from the theology, mythology, and magic that had become cornerstones of the franchise. While the intersection of history and aliens is just as probable, its execution in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull included an overtly linear storyline, marginalizing its hero, one-dimensional villains, CGI monkeys, and vine-swinging. That being said, the alien McGuffin presented itself as an easy target for criticisms of the film’s more cartoonish aspects.
15 years after Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was released in theaters, the now 79-year-old Ford will put his fedora on for a fifth time. The upcoming sequel will be the first in the series not helmed by Spielberg. Instead, James Mangold serves as director and co-writer alongside scribes Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth. Presumably, Indiana Jones 5 will be Ford's final outing and look to make up for the fourth film’s missteps. Plot details are being kept under wraps but it’s safe to say it’ll avoid spacemen (or women).
Source: Script Apart
