Lucasfilm Story Group

Moedred

Administrator
Staff member
As seen here in SF, separate from the Indy office in LA. The Wall Street Journal has a couple of pieces about head of development Kiri Hart. "I've been sitting down with filmmakers and writers, talking with them about what they love about Star Wars, and playing matchmaker," she said. When new Indy content arises, the writing process will probably start here.
 

kongisking

Active member
Im a tad worried that if the Indy series ignites again, they will apply the new canon system to Indy and toss out the previous EU. I don't think I'd be able to handle the endless flood of complaining about that in this fandom, its aggravating enough in the proper SW one... :rolleyes:
 

TheFedora

Active member
kongisking said:
Im a tad worried that if the Indy series ignites again, they will apply the new canon system to Indy and toss out the previous EU. I don't think I'd be able to handle the endless flood of complaining about that in this fandom, its aggravating enough in the proper SW one... :rolleyes:

Considering that Indy has encountered pretty much every macguffin out there in the EU...(Comics, novels, games, etc...) I think that sadly taking out one of them is probably the only way if they want to use a macguffin that Indy's gone after in the past eu-wise. I don't like it and think that's lazy, but I fear that is what will end up happening in the end.
 

Grizzlor

Well-known member
I would hazard a guess that even most Indy fans like myself couldn't recall much about its EU beyond Fate of Atlantis.
 

Z dweller

Well-known member
Grizzlor said:
I would hazard a guess that even most Indy fans like myself couldn't recall much about its EU beyond Fate of Atlantis.
I think you are right.

I for one never read an Indy novel or comic book, or played any of the videogames.

Surely for the vast majority of fans Indy's universe is defined by the movies, so if the next one should feature a macguffin from, say, one of the novels, most viewers wouldn't realize, and their experience would be unaffected.
 

Moedred

Administrator
Staff member
The only time Indy tales intrude on each other is when huge blocks of time are commandeered for no reason ("I spent a year searching for that..."). There's not yet been a need to address the EU because when Indy 4 was released everything after 1950 was a blank slate, and now we don't know what happens after 1958. Sorry Stoo, but while Old Indy exists in the Indyverse, he's a bit confused.

My hope is before throwing anything out they consider establishing an unreliable narrator. Curt Henderson from American Graffiti, who attends an unnamed east coast university in the 1960s and becomes a writer, seems the perfect character to tell Indy's tales using the scattered resources available to him. He might even embellish for his audience (including Old Indy!) or make up minor stories from whole cloth.

If they reboot in the 20s, then we'll cross that bridge later.
 

Udvarnoky

Well-known member
I never got the impression that the extended universe of Indy takes a whole lot of care in terms of continuity. Hell, the mythos is arguably pretty careless even if you consider only the films.

I'm still waiting for the novels that will desperately include or reference Harold Oxley in old stories to support Crystal Skull's claim that he and Indy were super close friends in the college days who only split apart after Indy ditched Marion in the aftermath of Raiders.
 

Z dweller

Well-known member
Although the Star Wars franchise is much bigger than Indy in terms of fandom and potential for additional revenues, seeing how Disney are milking every penny from their SW acquisition gives me renewed confidence that we'll see a new Indy movie in the next few years (whether or not Ford is in it).
 

Moedred

Administrator
Staff member
Sounds like everyone's getting a tv-style story room these days...
Akiva Goldsman: "There are good rooms around town, including the Monsters Room at Universal, the Star Wars room, and of course, at Marvel."
That's from the new Transformers room, formed after a decade of throwing stuff at the screen.
 

Moedred

Administrator
Staff member
ILM President Lynwen Brennan, during the Art of Storytelling presentation:
Kiri [Hart] and her group have mapped out a story and timeline across multiple platforms many years in advance, many EXHAUSTING years in advance. … We have a great honor to have responsibility for, so we want to be really careful with that. Not only for Star Wars but with Indiana Jones, which we’re all really excited about as well.
Last year Kiri Hart said about Star Wars, which is also true of Indy:
The benefit of making additional episodes that move forward on the timeline is that we are making new space for ourselves.
 

TheFedora

Active member
Moedred said:
ILM President Lynwen Brennan, during the Art of Storytelling presentation:

Last year Kiri Hart said about Star Wars, which is also true of Indy:

Everyone online took that to mean "Indiana Jones cinematic universe"...but I think more likely is we'll be getting new Indy novels or comics when the new movie comes out. At least I hope so.
 

Duaner

New member
TheFedora said:
Everyone online took that to mean "Indiana Jones cinematic universe"...but I think more likely is we'll be getting new Indy novels or comics when the new movie comes out. At least I hope so.

I'm taking it to mean both. I think we will definitely be seeing several more movies after Indy 5. I think we will see prequels with a younger Indy in the late 1920s/early 1930s and see a spin-off series featuring a new character (probably initially a sidekick to Indy) introduced in Indy 5 who can carry the franchise on into the future. This is similar to what they are doing with Star Wars - continuing the franchise with new younger characters (Episodes VII, VIII, and IX), while simultaneously going back to tell prequel stories (Rogue One, Han Solo film). In addition, I think we will see novels/comics set in the years of 1939-1956. Heck, maybe we will even see an animated series pop up on Disney XD. Either way, I think there is lots of Indy to come over the next 10-15 years.
 

Z dweller

Well-known member
Duaner said:
I think we will see prequels with a younger Indy in the late 1920s/early 1930s
Yes, I am certain of this too.

Duaner said:
and see a spin-off series featuring a new character (probably initially a sidekick to Indy) introduced in Indy 5 who can carry the franchise on into the future.
Nah, I really don't see this happening - and personally I would not want it to happen at all.
Your SW analogy does not hold water, in my opinion.
I completely agree with Sciretta's view: Indiana Jones is the selling point of these adventures.

Duaner said:
Either way, I think there is lots of Indy to come over the next 10-15 years.
Oh yeah, baby! (y)
 

Duaner

New member
Z dweller said:
Nah, I really don't see this happening - and personally I would not want it to happen at all.
Your SW analogy does not hold water, in my opinion.
I completely agree with Sciretta's view: Indiana Jones is the selling point of these adventures.

I would never say that with such certainty. If they could introduce a character we cared to follow on his own Indy-style adventures (so not Mutt), I would surely pay to see it (and I highly doubt there are any Indy fans who would not). If they are indeed considering a cinematic "universe", that would have to encompass more than just one character's adventures. They will milk all they can from the franchise.
 

Violet

Moderator Emeritus
TheFedora said:
Considering that Indy has encountered pretty much every macguffin out there in the EU...(Comics, novels, games, etc...) I think that sadly taking out one of them is probably the only way if they want to use a macguffin that Indy's gone after in the past eu-wise. I don't like it and think that's lazy, but I fear that is what will end up happening in the end.

As someone who read the novels that already happened. Indy went after a Crystal Skull and a story arc that went across all the Max McCoy books years before Indy 4. Though the ride in Japan and the Young Indy episode that was never filmed would suggest the Crystal Skull idea had been in Lucas' head in the 90s.

In any case, it wouldn't bother me with a new EU despite my love for the old EU.
 

Z dweller

Well-known member
Duaner said:
If they could introduce a character we cared to follow on his own Indy-style adventures (so not Mutt), I would surely pay to see it (and I highly doubt there are any Indy fans who would not).
Hmmm... with a Lara Croft remake and the first Nathan Drake big screen adventure in the making, it would seem ill advised for Disney to try and launch yet another modern day adventurer/relic hunter/Indy ripoff yarn.
 

Duaner

New member
Z dweller said:
Hmmm... with a Lara Croft remake and the first Nathan Drake big screen adventure in the making, it would seem ill advised for Disney to try and launch yet another modern day adventurer/relic hunter/Indy ripoff yarn.

Yeah, but we're not talking about an "Indy rip-off" - we're talking Indy spin-off. I highly doubt that Disney would back off any plans because of a couple inferior Indy wannabes. They would have the "Indiana Jones" name as a launching point. Either way, this would not happen right now anyway. Indy 5 is not until 2019, so if any type of spin-off was made, we would be in the early to mid 2020s when it would be released. I actually think there is a better chance than not that we see some sort of Indy-less film that still exists in the same universe as Indy. Shared universes are all the rage right now - Marvel, DC, Star Wars, Universal Monsters, Godzilla/Kong. It really sounds as if they are working on ways to expand the "Indyverse." You may not like the idea, but that does not mean it will not happen.
 

Attila the Professor

Moderator
Staff member
Duaner said:
Yeah, but we're not talking about an "Indy rip-off" - we're talking Indy spin-off. I highly doubt that Disney would back off any plans because of a couple inferior Indy wannabes. They would have the "Indiana Jones" name as a launching point.

This feels to me like a distinction without a difference. An Indy spinoff, if featuring a younger sidekick introduced in Indy V, and thus set in, at earliest, the early 1960s, bears no substantial relationship that I can imagine to the spirit of the Indy films. Different character, different period, different creators: what's the point of tying them together?

And how would they even shoehorn the Indiana Jones name in there? <I>The Jones Legacy</I>?
 

Finn

Moderator
Staff member
Attila the Professor said:
This feels to me like a distinction without a difference. An Indy spinoff, if featuring a younger sidekick introduced in Indy V, and thus set in, at earliest, the early 1960s, bears no substantial relationship that I can imagine to the spirit of the Indy films. Different character, different period, different creators: what's the point of tying them together?

And how would they even shoehorn the Indiana Jones name in there? <I>The Jones Legacy</I>?
They don't need to any sensible reason if they can find enough people like Duaner who find the idea enticing. As the old adage goes, "A thousand men can say manure does not taste good, but there will still be millions of flies who disagree."

(In the name of fairness, same can also be applied from the POV of the Ford purists. If enough people will be willing to pay for their tickets after a recast, their opinion matters little.)
 
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