When Guardians of the Galaxy came out of nowhere to win the hearts and minds of millions last summer, it seemed suddenly that everyone in Hollywood wanted a piece of Chris Pratt. The actor was snapped up for this summer’s Jurassic World, recruited for The Magnificent Seven and snagged for sci-fi romance Passengers. On the eve of his Jurassic debut, however, Pratt is setting the record straight on some other huge projects he’s been rumored for – including Indiana Jones, Ghostbusters and Knight Rider reboots.
During an interview with GQ (via /Film), Pratt addressed talk of him inheriting the Indiana Jones franchise from Harrison Ford, admitting that he’d been contacted about it but downplaying the idea that he’d ever don the iconic fedora. According to the piece:
The truth, as far as he is concerned, is that someone high up at Disney did mention to him a while back that they were picking up the rights to Indiana Jones, to which Pratt commented that his action-adventure card was fairly full.
That’s not what Pratt said three months ago, when he explained that he was optimistic but that no one had called him. It’s true that the actor has his hands full right now, though, with Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and a possible Jurassic World follow-up giving him two mega-franchises to play with. Indiana Jones might be too commitment-heavy for Pratt to handle at the moment. The actor also commented that Steven Spielberg, who produced Jurassic World, “didn’t bring it up” when the two were in communication about that franchise.
Pratt was far more assertive in shutting down talk of him starring with Channing Tatum in a Ghostbusters spinoff for Sony:
No one has ever even spoken to me about that. Never. I’ve even seen Channing a couple times. As far as I know, that’s complete bullshit.
That’s surely disappointing news for fans of that franchise, given that Pratt’s humorous energy seemed like a good fit for Ghostbusters, but at least the actor is being good enough to not keep us hanging. Pratt was similarly blunt about talk of him teaming up with K.I.T.T. in a Knight Rider pic, calling the rumor “bullshit.”
Of course, Pratt could be lying about one or all of these until a deal is signed, but his conviction in shutting down at least Ghostbusters and Knight Rider suggests to me that the actor is telling the truth. Of course, Indiana Jones would be a killer gig for the star, and it’s hard to imagine him turning it down were he offered the role, so we may not have heard the last of his potential involvement there. In the meantime, you’ve got to admire Pratt for being so open about his future roles and not teasing fans with half-promises.
