The Bradley Cooper Indy Reboot rumors have been officially bullwhipped. The old gang is getting back together again to make the 5th installment in the Indiana Jones franchise. The new adventure will hit screens three summers from now – on July 19, 2019.
Walt Disney Studios – the parent company of Lucasfilm Ltd., which owns the rights to the beloved character – said in its official release:
“Steven Spielberg, who directed all four previous films, will helm the as-yet-untitled project with star Harrison Ford reprising his iconic role. Franchise veterans Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall will produce.”
“Indiana Jones is one of the greatest heroes in cinematic history, and we can’t wait to bring him back to the screen in 2019,” said Alan Horn, Chairman, The Walt Disney Studios. “It’s rare to have such a perfect combination of director, producers, actor and role, and we couldn’t be more excited to embark on this adventure with Harrison and Steven.”
“Famed archaeologist and explorer Indiana Jones was introduced in 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark – one of AFI’s 100 Greatest American Films of All Time – and later thrilled audiences in 1984’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, 1989’s Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The four films have brought in nearly $2 billion at the global box office.”
Notably absent from the announcement? George Lucas. It had long been a gentleman’s agreement between Ford, Spielberg, and Lucas that no new Indy adventure would be made without the three signing off on what it would be, and producing it together. In fact, it was Lucas alone who conceived the character and concept – successfully pitching it to Spielberg, who was looking for his own James Bond – so without George we’d never even have these classic movies to begin with. Of course, The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull probably wouldn’t have been as lame without him either. Whether this becomes the first Indy episode sans George Lucas remains to be seen.
Also to be seen: how creative Spielberg gets with changing the classic Paramount Mountain Logo opening transition to the Walt Disney castle.
I’m hoping that Paramount keeps its logo on this franchise, the way they kept their logo on the first couple of Marvel movies that Disney distributed.
Peter, do you know if Paramount has any legal rights for leverage? It’d be nice to keep that consistent, at least with Indy movies starring Ford.
Sorry, no idea. Haven’t looked into that closely yet.