There has been a continual delicate dance around what happens to the Indiana Jones franchise after Harrison Ford cracks the whip one more time with Steven Spielberg in “Indiana Jones 5,” due for release in 2019. But one thing we do know is that there will be “a reboot of some sort,” because you don’t spend $4 billion acquiring a company like Lucasfilm, to leave a valuable IP like Indiana Jones sitting on a shelf after making one more movie. But what does the future hold beyond Ford’s film?
During “The Art Of Storytelling” panel this weekend at Star Wars Celebration Europe, ILM President Lynwen Brennan teased a franchise future for Indy, when talking about the company’s collaboration with Disney‘s Story Group.
“[Lucasfilm Senior Vice President Of Development] Kiri [Hart] and her group have mapped out a story and timeline across multiple platforms many years in advance, many exhausting years in advance. … We have a great honor to have responsibility for, so we want to be really careful with that. Not only for ‘Star Wars’ but with Indiana Jones, which we’re all really excited about as well,” Brennan said.
Collider asks the question of whether this means we’re getting a massive movie universe like “Star Wars” for Indiana Jones, with mainline stories and narrative spinoffs. At this juncture, I’d wager that right now, the Story Group is focused on getting a great script for “Indiana Jones 5,” laying down the groundwork for whatever the “reboot” might be, but perhaps leaving their options open after that. There are a lot of questions that need to be answered, most notably how audiences will respond to the passing of the torch. But could Disney be thinking about making Indiana Jones a massive property like “Star Wars,” so they can launch more theme park rides, attractions, and sell toys? I don’t doubt it, however, they likely realize how much attachment the audience has to Ford and will be very, very careful in continuing without him.
Let us know where you want Indy to go in the future in the comments section below.