Lucasfilm may be focused on the resurgent Star Wars franchise, but the Disney subsidiary is also looking to revive another blockbuster property, Indiana Jones. Following the divisive release of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the future of Steven Spielberg’s whip-wielding hero was uncertain, but that all changed earlier this year.
Ready Player One took the top spot at the box office this long weekend, meaning Spielberg is officially off the clock. The two-time Academy Award winner for Best Director won’t have much downtime, though, seeing as he’ll be spending the better part of 2018 locked in pre-production for Indiana Jones 5.
Spielberg confirmed the fifth instalment in the series as his next project a couple of months back, before letting it slip that the film will enter production in 2019 just two weeks ago. However, Indiana Jones 5 wasn’t always the sure thing it now appears to be, mostly because the Ready Player One director had hopes of proceeding with a contemporary remake of West Side Story as his next project.
When Indiana Jones 5 does start filming in April of next year, Harrison Ford will be 77 years of age. That’s pretty old for a role like this and talk of recasting the character has been lively since Ford started getting on in years, with the likes of Chris Pratt and Bradley Cooper being thought of to replace the Han Solo actor.
Spielberg is aware of this, too, and isn’t opposed to the idea of recasting Indiana Jones as a female. In an interview with TheSun.co.uk, he was asked about the possibility of a woman taking over the role of from Ford, to which he responded, “We’d have to change the name from Jones to Joan. And there would be nothing wrong with that.”
Hardly confirmation that this will indeed happen, but at the very least, Spielberg seems open to the idea. Whether or not that’s the route they’ll head in with Indiana Jones once Ford departs remains to be seen, but tell us, would you be opposed to having a female in the role? Let us know in the usual place.
