The future of Indiana Jones

monkey

Guest
I am a long time Indiana Jones fan. I have seen Crystal Skull. Once. I posted my opinion on the review thread. I probably should see it twice, or three times before posting my opinion, but ..........

Liked it, but had problems with it.

Anyway, I think that Indy IV had so much baggage coming in that I thought that it would be impossible to make that film. But , I'll be damned.....they did! and with Harrison Ford playing the lead role. Wow! (and doing a damn good job!!)

But what of the future of Indiana Jones??

I think that paradoxically his future lies in a return to the past.

I think that the baggage needs to be dropped, and the slate needs to be wiped clean.

There needs to be a return to Indiana Jones' roots. Battling Nazis and bad guys in the 1930s.

But after the Aliens and the Flying saucers, can we ever return to that place that Indiana Jones truly belongs?

Did the franchise shoot its 'wad' with Indy IV?

Do we need a new and different Adventure Hero? Is Indy done?

Indy V???

Hmmmm............I don't know.

Your thoughts.
 

Moedred

Administrator
Staff member
I think Spielberg needs to return to his roots: race around the world with a (relatively) limited crew and budget and smaller cast of leads. I'm thinking Ford, Davies, Shia and a romantic interest for his character. Which would be excusable and good for the target demographic.
 

agentsands77

New member
Whatever else INDY V does, I think it needs to bring Indy back to earth a bit. KINGDOM was an outlandish, comic-booky adventure, and INDY V should be a true attempt to return back to RAIDERS.

Now, personally, I'd prefer it if INDY V was a TEMPLE OF DOOM-style prequel to KINGDOM, because I just don't like seeing Indy continue onwards, but if it must be a sequel only Mutt or Marion should have a substantial role - not both of them. It's time to try and get away from the "Indy & Friends" vibe of CRUSADE and KINGDOM.
 

deckard24

New member
Monkey nice thread!!:hat:

I too agree that if a fifth film is made they need to drop the Indy and friends motif they've been using since LC! Bring it back to basics and streamline the cast. An adventure with Indy and Mutt (and perhaps Sallah if necessary), but no Marion and no unecessary cameos! I personally would love to see an Indy film that returns to China, that would be a great setting for a new adventure. If they really wanted Shorty could make a cameo in that case, but that would exclude Sallah(which would be fine). They could have communist enemies once again since it would be in China in the late 50's, and this would at least keep some continuity with KOTCS.
 

G-Man

New member
I agree with Moedred and agentsands, strip down the cast, either prequel set in 55 or 56 (my preference) or sequel with Mutt only.

I don't think it "shot it's wad" more like "arrived too early" if you'll excuse the turn of phrase, the, er, "wad" is ready for Indy V... ;)
 

mutt willams

New member
monkey said:
I am a long time Indiana Jones fan. I have seen Crystal Skull. Once. I posted my opinion on the review thread. I probably should see it twice, or three times before posting my opinion, but ..........

Liked it, but had problems with it.

Anyway, I think that Indy IV had so much baggage coming in that I thought that it would be impossible to make that film. But , I'll be damned.....they did! and with Harrison Ford playing the lead role. Wow! (and doing a damn good job!!)

But what of the future of Indiana Jones??

I think that paradoxically his future lies in a return to the past.

I think that the baggage needs to be dropped, and the slate needs to be wiped clean.

There needs to be a return to Indiana Jones' roots. Battling Nazis and bad guys in the 1930s.

But after the Aliens and the Flying saucers, can we ever return to that place that Indiana Jones truly belongs?

Did the franchise shoot its 'wad' with Indy IV?

Do we need a new and different Adventure Hero? Is Indy done?

Indy V???

Hmmmm............I don't know.

Your thoughts.

no i dont think indy is done, i mean there are many ways there could be a new indy movie, you could do a prequel to indy IV and use a differnt actor (id hate to see that though) heck, one of us could even make the next indy movie, id make it if they gave me the rights, but then again...... i am only 11:) so it would probably have to wait for another 15 yrs. or so... anyways back on topic, i really dont think indy is done.
 

deckard24

New member
As for KOTCS shooting its wad, I don't think so! But they'd definitely have a lot of work to bring back the quality, tone, and feel of Raiders. In my opinion the biggest hurdle they'd have to face is Spielberg and Lucas not toning down the film to make it more acceptable to the masses. That to me was one of KOTCS' biggest flaws.

As for the prequel angle, I don't think they'd go that route because that would exclude their new "ace" card Shia LaBeouf! They'd only be shooting themselves in the feet financially speaking. If they set it a year later, they could have Mutt back in school with perhaps a field trip to China for academic reasons. He could get into trouble and need Indy to come find him. Then maybe Indy would call upon Shorty to help him navigate through the Chinese underworld, or something to effect!

Maybe I'm just wishfully thinking!;)
 

mutt willams

New member
deckard24 said:
As for KOTCS shooting its wad, I don't think so! But they'd definitely have a lot of work to bring back the quality, tone, and feel of Raiders. In my opinion the biggest hurdle they'd have to face is Spielberg and Lucas not toning down the film to make it more acceptable to the masses. That to me was one of KOTCS' biggest flaws.

As for the prequel angle, I don't think they'd go that route because that would exclude their new "ace" card Shia LaBeouf! They'd only be shooting themselves in the feet financially speaking. If they set it a year later, they could have Mutt back in school with perhaps a field trip to China for academic reasons. He could get into trouble and need Indy to come find him. Then maybe Indy would call upon Shorty to help him navigate through the Chinese underworld, or something to effect!

Maybe I'm just wishfully thinking!;)

i like the idea
 

Burke

New member
Indy's done. I don't like saying it, but it's over. A reboot is impossible due to the iconic nature of the character and Ford's portrayal of him, and now Indy is a husband and father in his mid-60s.
 

jonesissparrow

New member
deckard24 said:
Monkey nice thread!!:hat:

I too agree that if a fifth film is made they need to drop the Indy and friends motif they've been using since LC! Bring it back to basics and streamline the cast. An adventure with Indy and Mutt (and perhaps Sallah if necessary), but no Marion and no unecessary cameos! I personally would love to see an Indy film that returns to China, that would be a great setting for a new adventure. If they really wanted Shorty could make a cameo in that case, but that would exclude Sallah(which would be fine). They could have communist enemies once again since it would be in China in the late 50's, and this would at least keep some continuity with KOTCS.

I like that idea and I think if Mutt is suppose to have a love interest I think it should be a Ilsa type of Chinese girl who betrays Indy and Mutt but redeems herself in the end. It would be also neat if they took the storyline from Emperor's Tomb into Indy V!
 

Attila the Professor

Moderator
Staff member
jonesissparrow said:
I like that idea and I think if Mutt is suppose to have a love interest I think it should be a Ilsa type of Chinese girl who betrays Indy and Mutt but redeems herself in the end. It would be also neat if they took the storyline from Emperor's Tomb into Indy V!

It hurts when I have two responses and both of them are sarcastic:

A) What storyline?
B) Hell, Emperor's Tomb screwed up continuity enough already; once more can't hurt.
 
deckard24 said:
They could have communist enemies once again since it would be in China in the late 50's, and this would at least keep some continuity with KOTCS.


There aint no way on Gods Earth that Spielberg and Co. are gonna pack their bags and head for China! Look at KOTCS. Localised. Minimal effort/maximum box office. I think Spielberg is not invested in the subject matter enough to head off and eat rice sandwiches for three months. In 1984, yes. But now, no.

I would love a return to filming in locales foreign but I can't see it happening.


:hat:
 

James

Well-known member
I think Indy and Marion should go on a quest for something like the Garden of Eden, Shangri-La, Shambhala, etc. There's no point in trying to revisit ROTLA, but this approach would be close to what many fans expected to get back in 1984.

Mutt basically served his purpose in KOTCS, just as Henry Sr. did in LC. However, I wouldn't mind Mutt returning to help Indy in the prologue, then deciding to go off and finish school. This would also provide a nice setup for Indy's quest, as he realizes Mutt's journey is just beginning while his own is winding down. If it is to be the final Indy film, I could see it as something more elegiac. Marion would once again be Jones' partner, even as she senses he is headed for the same fate as Abner.

There's no need for Sallah to return, or for them to go out of their way to 'ground' the adventure. It should be infused with the same love of pulp that the previous films were.

I didn't mind the lack of foreign locales in KOTCS, because they basically went where the story took them. Since ROTLA established Hawaii as the jungles of South America, you can't really fault them for reusing the setting in KOTCS. But it would be nice to see a snowbound locale. It also might be interesting to see Indy in the heart of Africa ala the Monkey King script.
 

Violet

Moderator Emeritus
James said:
I think Indy and Marion should go on a quest for something like the Garden of Eden, Shangri-La, Shambhala, etc. There's no point in trying to revisit ROTLA, but this approach would be close to what many fans expected to get back in 1984.

Mutt basically served his purpose in KOTCS, just as Henry Sr. did in LC. However, I wouldn't mind Mutt returning to help Indy in the prologue, then deciding to go off and finish school. This would also provide a nice setup for Indy's quest, as he realizes Mutt's journey is just beginning while his own is winding down. If it is to be the final Indy film, I could see it as something more elegiac. Marion would once again be Jones' partner, even as she senses he is headed for the same fate as Abner.

There's no need for Sallah to return, or for them to go out of their way to 'ground' the adventure. It should be infused with the same love of pulp that the previous films were.

I didn't mind the lack of foreign locales in KOTCS, because they basically went where the story took them. Since ROTLA established Hawaii as the jungles of South America, you can't really fault them for reusing the setting in KOTCS. But it would be nice to see a snowbound locale. It also might be interesting to see Indy in the heart of Africa ala the Monkey King script.

I concur. If there was to be another Indy with HF, that would be direction I'd like to see them take it, but knowing how the big three feel about Shia (and the young girls including myself) they'll want to include him in a action oriented role and would probably choose Mutt over Marion as a sidekick. I do love the Mutt character but to me, it would just end up being a rehash of LC if they were to go with the Mutt and Indy type of sequel. If Marion were to be in it in the tone and direction as you suggested I feel that would be a better direction because it would be different and it feels more honest.

However, I'm not adversed to not in the near future but further down the track, for a younger Indiana Jones at the beginning of his career in the 20s to early 30s. To me, for the franchise the way forward is to go back.
 

deckard24

New member
herr gruber said:
There aint no way on Gods Earth that Spielberg and Co. are gonna pack their bags and head for China! Look at KOTCS. Localised. Minimal effort/maximum box office. I think Spielberg is not invested in the subject matter enough to head off and eat rice sandwiches for three months. In 1984, yes. But now, no.

I would love a return to filming in locales foreign but I can't see it happening.


:hat:
You might be right! Especially since Spielberg recently denounced the Chinese government for their role in Darfur, and backed out of the Olympics as an artistic advisor! But they just recently finished filming The Mummy:Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, and the majority of that film takes place in China which I'm assuming they shot somewhere over in Asia to capture the look and feel of the landscape. Of course a lot of it could have been filmed here, but from the trailers it looks like they did some location shooting.

To me China is the next best area of the world for an Indy film, since they've done the Middle East twice now and the same with South America.

Africa is a good idea as well James!:hat:
 

bloodandmood

New member
There's a lot of talk about Indy V possibilities. I think a great way to reinforce the cannon would be to create a traditionally animated TV show that told the stories between LC and KOTCS. The actors from the films could do the voices, and because of the nature of animation, the stories are limitless.

The Lucas Animation team made the Clone Wars show a few years ago, the style and look was pretty good, I think it could be adapted pretty well. They'd just need a strong writing staff.
 
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