Expect more delays for the fifth (and presumably final?) installment in the Indiana Jones franchise, as a big shakeup has just happened behind the scenes that is almost certain to result in much more tumult and turmoil. Steven Spielberg, who has directed all of the past four Indiana Jones movies, has stepped back from the project and passed the responsibility on to James Mangold. Spielberg will continue to serve as a “hands-on producer”, but his decision to exit the director’s chair was inspired by his desire to have a fresh, new perspective on the long-running franchise.
Mangold himself is an inspired choice to take over – leaving aside the fact that he’s earned multiple Oscar nominations, he has had previous experience on a project very similar to Indiana Jones 5: in 2017’s Logan, Mangold successfully closed out the storied characters arc of fan-favorite X-Men heroes Wolverine and Professor X in a final chapter that managed to be appropriately nostalgic while still working as a stand-alone film. In Logan, Mangold also tried to set up the foundations for future stories in the X-Universe – a universe which ceased to be after the Disney acquisition of 20th Century Fox. Considering that the Indiana Jones franchise is safely in Disney’s hands already and thus unlikely to go anywhere for a while, Mangold might have an opportunity to actually plant the seeds for new Jones stories, whether focused on Jones’ canonical son Mutt, or another character better suited to wear the trademark fedora and carry on the family tradition of globe-trotting and illegal looting.
Spielberg’s decision to leave marks the latest in a long string of setbacks and unfortunate events that have plagued this film’s development. Indiana Jones 5‘s release date has been pushed back twice already (and now, with a new director coming onboard with his own unique vision, could be in for a third delay), and the film has breezed through writers. Besides Harrison Ford, no one has yet joined the cast – though a number of Ford’s original cast-mates have expressed interest in returning for a last hurrah.
Until we learn more, let’s take comfort in the fact that Ford himself recently promised an epic, action-packed finale to the rogue archaeologist’s adventures. Fingers crossed that we ever get to see it.
