For the first time in the franchise’s history, Steven Spielberg won’t be directing the next “Indiana Jones” movie…
Steven Spielberg is bowing out of “Indiana Jones 5.”
The award winning director, who has been at the helm for every previous “Indiana Jones” film has decided not to direct the next film in the series coming from Disney and Lucasfilm. Spielberg is expected to remain on the sequel as a producer and consultant with Harrison Ford still attached to return to the iconic role he first played in 1981’s “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”
According to reports, Spielberg’s exit was his decision as he wanted to hand over the reins of “Indiana Jones” to a new filmmaker for the next generation of moviegoers discovering the character.
With Spielberg stepping down, “Logan” director James Mangold is currently in talks to take over the project.
In addition to his work on the “X-Men” spinoff starring Hugh Jackman, Mangold recently directed the Academy Award nominated feature film “Ford V. Ferrari” starring Matt Damon and Christian Bale.
While Spielberg has kicked off successful franchises in the past with movies such as “Jaws” and “Jurassic Park,” he has handed sequels over to different filmmakers over the years. The big difference with the “Indiana Jones” films was that Spielberg was front and center for every one of those movies from “Raiders of the Lost Ark” to “Temple of Doom” to “The Last Crusade” and finally “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”
Production on the next “Indiana Jones” film was supposed to start this year with a 2021 release date expected but with the change in directors and the script still being worked on, it’s likely the sequel will get pushed back to a later date. Jonathan Kasdan — son of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” writer Lawrence Kasdan — was brought on to take a pass at the script originally written by David Koepp, who is no longer working on the film.
First things first, however, Mangold has to reach an agreement with Lucasfilm and Disney to take over the project before any production on “Indiana Jones 5” can get underway.
H/T: Variety
