Jumping to Conclusions

A lot of information lately seems to be pointing to the confirmation that UFOs and Extraterrestrials are at the heart of KOTCS. And fans seem to split on whether this is a good or bad thing.

However, we have to keep in mind a very telling quote from Mr. Lucas himself in that Vanity Fair article from a few months back. He compared KOTCS to "Creature from the Black Lagoon." In that film, the creature was very foreign (alien, even), yet it was entirely of this earth.

I am willing to bet that these "aliens" will end up being earthly beings that are not from outer space after all.

I'm sure I've said this a dozen or so times on these threads, but with all the new toys / books that seem to pointing towards aliens, we have to remember that the movie hasn't even been released yet, there is plenty of plot info that has yet to be revealed and we're going to drive ourselves nuts "writing" the movie that we haven't seen yet based on conjecture, rumor and hearsay.

We don't know for sure that these "aliens" are from outer space. We just know that they are some kind of humanoid being that is technologically advanced. They could be a lost race of terrestrial beings for all we know.

In 21 days, we'll know for sure.

Though I agree with your statement, there's NO way you could escape us fanboys telling what we think is going to happen. I mean, if we weren't debating about what we think will happen in the film, what else would we be talking about? We could only say so much about action figures and soundtracks. EVERY message board does it. We talk about what will happen based on pictures/trailers/merch. It's inescapable really.

So, I guess the answer to your post would be a big "Well DUH", no disrespect to you of course.

I put my faith in Lucas for Episode I and that was the most disappointing theatrical experience of my life. I don't trust George. He's lost his mind.

"Its a mat... with differant conclusions....that you can...jump to!"

Deckard said:

"Its a mat with differant conclusions....that you can...jump to!"

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Michael Bolton: That's the worst idea I've ever heard in my life, Tom.
Samir: Yes, this is horrible, this idea.

I LOVE Office Space!

I'm willing to bet that either:

A) If aliens are central to the plot, they are dead aliens, and placing the Skull back on one of their bodies will activate some kind of spacecraft; OR

B) Everyone thinks they are aliens, but they really aren't

(B) actually fits the 1950s, Cold War ethos quite well.

DocWhiskey said:

Though I agree with your statement, there's NO way you could escape us fanboys telling what we think is going to happen. I mean, if we weren't debating about what we think will happen in the film, what else would we be talking about? We could only say so much about action figures and soundtracks. EVERY message board does it. We talk about what will happen based on pictures/trailers/merch. It's inescapable really.

So, I guess the answer to your post would be a big "Well DUH", no disrespect to you of course.

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No disrespect taken.

I'm all for speculation and debate, it's just that there hasn't been much variety with the speculation and debate. It's like everyone has resigned themselves to the fact that there will be extraterrestrials and spaceships, and there's a lot of trepidation and anxiety over it all, when nothing for sure has been confirmed.

I'm just trying to save people from the fear and anxiety that may not be warranted. I just hate to see people upset over something that may not be true after all, and I just want to remind people that there are other possibilities regarding the "aliens."

Luckylighter said:

I am willing to bet that these "aliens" will end up being earthly beings that are not from outer space after all.

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That's a very interesting twist (and I kind of like it), but unfortunately, that's not really what the rumors/other information we have points to. We have to go off of what we have, and despite unofficial confirmation, it looks pretty certain that aliens are the order of the day.

Things that have come to light and point to aliens:
-The Roswell crate that the Soviets are after in Hangar 51.
-THE INDIANA JONES HANDBOOK has a section that mentions Indy running away from aliens (it also has other KINGDOM-related sections).
-THE LOST JOURNAL OF INDIANA JONES talks about UFOs.
-These Burger King toy designs were clearly based off of UFOs, and even though they didn't have exact information they were clearly given enough to know what toys to develop.
-Frank Darabont's draft, which also had crystal skulls/skeletons and a lost city (it was very similar in a lot of the story elements, actually) was about extraterrestrials.
-In the German CINEMA interview, Lucas talks about the story direction and how the crystal skulls couldn't have come from earth.

I mean, that's a lot on the table (and that's not even all of the evidence we have pointing towards INDY IV featuring extraterrestrials as part of the story). I actually find it hard to entertain any other scenario.

The Ark was a gamble too

Raiders is a nearly perfect movie, but it wasn?t a sure thing. If you think about it, it?s a fairly straight-stick action movie until the last 15 minutes when it suddenly takes a dramatic turn into the supernatural. That was big gamble by Spielberg and if he hadn?t worked it just right, he would have lost the audience completely. But it did work and our ability to so completely suspend our disbelief at the end of that movie is part of what makes it a classic. It is the same pattern in Temple and Last Crusade. However, Last Crusade was clearly a less successful attempt (why does a 500 year old knight speak perfect 20th C. English? What has he been doing with all of his time there? Kneeling? Playing on the invisible bridge? Scrabulous?). It was much harder to suspend belief at the end of that movie. It just didn?t work as well.

If the alien thing turns out to be true in Crystal Skull, it?s no more or less of a gamble than Raiders or Crusade. In the end, it?s not the subject that will make this movie work, but whether Spielberg can work his magic again and get us to believe in the reality of the ending. Everyone should stop hyperventilating about it. It should be 1:45 of great action movie with :15 of something really out there. Spielberg (who is only getting better with his craft the older he gets) then gets to show off his skill on the tightrope!

KOTCS HAD to have a different slant in order to evolve the concept and make it worth making. If it would have been a direct re-tread of the first three movies it would be completely redundant.

So I for one am glad that A) It's been made with a circa 19 years gap (as an older/aged Indy is a concept worth exploring. B) That they bring a twist to the supernatural/religious elements e.g. aliens/ancient civilizations, as not only does this breathe opportunity into the franchise, but it brings it (in a movie making way) into the 21st century.

Again, it remains to be seen if it has executed well... but I stand by the statement that they had to do something new with it...

Agent Spalko,

In regards to your last post... I think you have to hold yourself at least partly responsible for that "disappointing theatrical experience", if you were expecting the sort of experience that we had when Star Wars first came out.

In regards to the original post: alien-like creatures from earth would be way worse than real aliens.

Even the alien plot haters must agree with that, right?

weyhoops said:

In regards to the original post: alien-like creatures from earth would be way worse than real aliens.

Even the alien plot haters must agree with that, right?

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Nah, not really. While I don't think it's actually what the film serves up, I do think the idea has a lot of merit. Very H. P. Lovecraft, and as anyone familiar with the man's work knows, Lovecraft rocks.

On that note, I do think the whole KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL storyline has something very Lovecraftian about it even in its current formulation.

Maybe INDY V can be INDIANA JONES AND THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS.

Also, I think the climax clearly involves a vortex and the hazards of being pulled into another dimension..., which again seems very Lovecraft.

Agent Spalko said:

I put my faith in Lucas for Episode I and that was the most disappointing theatrical experience of my life. I don't trust George. He's lost his mind.

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Well put. I agree 110%.

Lucas is absolutely insane.

snake_surprise said:

Well put. I agree 110%.

Lucas is absolutely insane.

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Lucas insane?...never!

Darth Vile said:

Also, I think the climax clearly involves a vortex and the hazards of being pulled into another dimension..., which again seems very Lovecraft.

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Yup. Very Lovecraft. And then you have the whole matter of ancient societies worshipping otherworldly beings as gods, the eerie cults...

agentsands77 said:

Yup. Very Lovecraft. And then you have the whole matter of ancient societies worshipping otherworldly beings as gods, the eerie cults...

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Love the 'Craft. It's classic pulp, so any KotCS/Lovecraft similarities can only be a good thing in my opinion.

After seeing the 2nd trailer, I have been giving this whole Alien thing a lot of thought. I think it's totally possible that Lucas and Spielberg have been steering people down the garden path concerning extraterrestrial involvement in this movie. I think we possibly have been duped this whole time. Aliens could still factor into the movie, but I guess we'll have to see how things play out.

I can totally see Spielberg including the shot of "Roswell" in the first trailer to throw people off on the wrong track. Area 51 has tons of crates, and this could just be an attempt at humor, much like Indy and Elsa finding the Ark painting down in the venice catacombs. There's no indication the skull is in the crate whatsoever. In fact, it appears that Indy and Mutt find the skull in South America judging by the shot of Indy holding the skull and grinning.

The temple of Akator seems to be an extremely dreary and foreboding place, and Jones mentions "the living dead." Could it be that there's some form of witchcraft or occult power associated with the deformed nature of the skull as opposed to extraterrestrial? I recently saw a story involving Spaniards transformed into hedious creatures by an ancient cursed object. Perhaps something similar is at work in KOTCS?

OmegaSeamaster said:

Aliens could still factor into the movie, but I guess we'll have to see how things play out.

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After the release of the card set, it's pretty much clear and unavoidable that aliens are part of the film.

OmegaSeamaster said:

I can totally see Spielberg including the shot of "Roswell" in the first trailer to throw people off on the wrong track.

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But it's not. The cards show what's in the crate:

An alien body.

Spalko later adressess the find and further emphasizes the extraterrestrial nature of it, and how they're going to Akator to seek alien knowledge.

OmegaSeamaster said:

Could it be that there's some form of witchcraft or occult power associated with the deformed nature of the skull as opposed to extraterrestrial?

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Not from what we know at this point. The cards explicitly state that the powers of the skull are technological/scientific/Roswellian and contrast that to the supernatural relics of previous films.

agentsands77 points out the facts as we have them, but OmegaSeamaster, I think you are right as so far as the whole alien thing will be underplayed. Also I would further posit that there will be a lot more mystery around the alien/crystal skull than some detractors like to think e.g. just because we saw what the Ark can do (ROTLA), it didn't automatically mean that the Christian God was revealed in all his/her glory. Indeed, if anything, it raised more questions than it gave answers. I hope that the aliens have this same enigma in KOTCS.