The idea of an Indiana Jones movie being directed by anyone other than Steven Spielberg is never going to sit well with a lot of fans, but in terms of replacements, James Mangold is a solid choice that could yet turn out to be an inspired one.
His career to date hasn’t been dissimilar to that of Spielberg’s in terms of versatility, as he’s moved seamlessly between gritty dramas Cop Land and Girl, Interrupted, awards season favorite Walk the Line, Western 3:10 to Yuma and big budget blockbusters Knight and Day and The Wolverine. It’s his most recent efforts that have generated the most optimism, though, with Logan regarded as one of the finest comic book movies ever made and Ford vs. Ferrari winning acclaim from critics and scoring an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.
As far as we know, cameras are set to begin rolling on Indiana Jones 5 in a matter of months, and Mangold recently took to social media and teased a potential trip to 1960s New York for Harrison Ford’s whip-cracking archeologist, as you can see below.
The Velvet Underground are fucking great.
That's it. That's my tweet.(Note — I'm mentally living in 60's NYC right now cause that's where all the movies I'm working on take place.)
— Mangold (@mang0ld) January 22, 2021
Of course, this could all just be a red herring on the director’s part, especially when he’s currently attached to helm another four movies as well as Indy’s long-awaited return. The 57 year-old is also set to tackle romantic drama Juliet, children’s fantasy Crenshaw, Bob Dylan biopic Going Electric with Timothee Chalamet in the lead role and literary adaptation The Force, all of which could fit that remit.
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull took place in 1957, though, so by that logic, Indiana Jones 5 could realistically even be set in the early 1970s, which sounds weird to imagine given that he’s spent the majority of his big screen tenure battling Nazis prior to the start of World War II.
