With The Post receiving critical acclaim and awards buzz and Ready Player One heading into the final stages of post-production, Steven Spielberg is apparently choosing between two very different movies for his next project. Deadline is reporting, courtesy of sources close to the director, that he’s stuck between Indiana Jones 5 and a modern remake of West Side Story.
Now, I like West Side Story as much as the next person, and a Spielberg-directed contemporary musical about urban gang warfare sounds like a weird and interesting movie, but if it’s a choice between that and more Indy, then I think it’s a no-brainer. At least, as far as I see it.
The only spanner in the works could be the reception of 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which is widely considered a leaden movie over-stuffed with unnecessary CGI and the slightly unwelcome notion that Shia LaBeouf was being lined up as the ‘next’ Indy. For the record, I quite liked The Crystal Skull the one time I saw it – though I was very, very drunk.
Still, perhaps that film’s bad reputation might be a catalyst for Spielberg to return once more so he can leave the franchise on a high. After all, Disney acquired the property a while back along with Star Wars, and they’d presumably be eager to chuck a crapload of money at a Spielberg-helmed sequel.
Word is that the film will feature Harrison Ford as Indy, but with Chris Pratt as his younger self. I’m presuming the story might be told partially in flashback then by an older Indy, as even Ford might be getting a bit long in the tooth for the stunt work. If the project were to start moving forward, it’s been pencilled in for a 2020 release, which should fill in the gap after Star Wars: Episode IX quite nicely.
That’s all we’ve got to go on for now, but we’re certainly hopeful that Spielberg makes the right choice here and we’ll be sure to bring you more on Indiana Jones 5 (or West Side Story) as and when we have it.