I vividly remember the first time I saw Raiders of The Lost Ark as a young child. I, along with countless of other fans, was immediately drawn into the world of Indiana Jones. From the action sequences to the very character himself, watching Dr. Jones fight Nazis and preserve ancient artifacts was truly a treat and an experience. The Indiana Jones franchise was very important back then, and it still is today. It marked the first major move for George Lucas to part ways with science fiction and into an entirely knew genre. As we know, the series featured Harrison Ford. We first saw Ford on the big screen as Han Solo, and he seemed to be almost born to play the role of Dr. Jones. Since the Raiders of The Lost Ark there have been three other films, and all of which have been a financial success. While the first three films were released in the 1980’s, Harrison Ford would return to reprise the role of Indy in the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. While it was a success in the box offices, many fans of the franchise had some gripes with the film. It lead to many questions being raised, and many people wondered if we would ever see an Indiana Jones film again. Well as it turns out, we probably will.
As many of you most likely know, Disney acquired Lucasfilm back in 2012 for the incredible price of $4.06 billion dollars. While that’s certainly steep, considering the projects and rights that Lucasfilm owns, it seems very appropriate. Now we have a new Star Wars film on the horizon, but Star Wars wasn’t the only rights that Disney acquired. They also acquired the rights for Indiana Jones. Since 2012 many fans and critics alike have been speculating as to whether or not we would get to see another Indy film. Recently in an interview Kathleen Kennedy, a producer over at Lucasfilm, confirmed what many people have been speculating for sometime now. She acknowledge that Indiana Jones is definitely on their minds, but they’re still in the extremely early phases of developing the next potential Indiana Jones film, as a script hasn’t even been written yet. So is making Indiana Jones 5 a good idea? I certainly think so.
For one, it seems that most people are happy that there is going to be a new Star Wars film. So why can’t we also have a new Indiana Jones movie? The last film didn’t concluded the series or anything, and Disney/Lucasfilm has an opportunity to attract new fans to the franchise. Many people were either upset or let down with the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, so a potential Indiana Jones 5 would be a great chance to restore the franchise to its former glory and capture a new audience to the franchise. However the real question revolves around the central figure of the franchise, Dr. Jones himself.
Harrison Ford has already reprised his role of Han Solo in the upcoming Star Wars movie, but would he come back to play Indiana Jones? At 72 years of age, Ford is certainly much older now and it’s difficult to imagine him scaling mountains, fighting Nazis, and swimming from branches with his whip at that age. It’s especially difficult to see considering how he injured himself while filming the new Star Wars and was involved in that plane crash. This is why many people, and insiders, have hinted that Indiana Jones could potentially become something like James Bond or Doctor Who, where the character is left in tact, but various actors play the role over the years. If they go down that route, then there could potentially be many Indiana Jones films in the future. But obviously they can’t just simply replace Ford in the new film, perhaps the new Indy would be his apprentice or son? Who knows.
And then that brings us to the potential revenue stream surrounding the franchise. Raiders of the Lost Ark had an $18 million dollar budget but grossed over $389 million in the box offices. Temple of Doom grossed some $333 million, The Last Crusade earned over $474 million, and finally Kingdom of the Crystal Skull brought in some $786 million dollars at the box office. Each film has been a money maker, and from a financial standpoint, it would be wise to produce another one.
So is Indiana Jones 5 a good idea or is it a bad one? I think it would be a good idea provided that Ford is involved in the film in someway. If they wrote him out, which I doubt they would, fans would definitely be upset. It would be interesting to see Dr. Jones turn into a Bond like character that is portrayed by many different actors over the years. I guess the future of this film is in the hands of Disney. Depending on the success and critical reception of the new Star Wars, we should get a good sense as if the future will hold an Indiana Jones 5.
Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
