The Man said:Anybody else having horrid visions of a forty-year-old Short Round still dressed in his TOD gear..?
jeshopk said:Here are some reasons I think Jonathan Ke Quan's return in Indy 5 would make absolute sense:
1) More action. Jonathan is a stunt choreographer and would add more thrills than a Mac or Oxley or Marion type sidekick would at this point.
2) His interaction with Mutt (presumably returning) could be quite humorous. Indy was Shorty's "father" for a time, and it could provide some dynamic to make Mutt and Indy bond in some realistic way. Both being different kinds of sons to Indy, there's something they already have in common.
3) Jonathan is great and very down to earth in interviews. The character would probably not be written wacky. He's an archaeologist.
4) Female love interest! Indy can't have one being married, so presumably it's going to be Mutt that gets the girl. Shorty and Mutt could have a little rivalry over the heroine.
So, if Mutt's going to be there anyway, it would be good to see Shorty there as Mutt's "Brother". The choice between Mutt alone or Mutt and Shorty splitting the "younger action hero" function is obvious. Kung fu it up! Shorty could even teach Mutt some kung fu. And it could take place in China.
I like your idea for a movie. Now if Spielberg and Lucas would read your entry.Ajax the Great said:In The Lost Journal of Indiana Jones, a book that came out earlier this year, there is a letter from Short Round, indicating that he is indeed alive and well. He seems to have followed in Indy's footsteps and become an archaeologist, and is searching for the Peacock's Eye (the diamond from the beginning of ToD and one of the Young Indy chronicles)...
moon_tan said:I like your idea for a movie. Now if Spielberg and Lucas would read your entry.
I would like Jonathan Ke Quan to return in Indiana Jones 5 and I think Indiana should be allowed to have the golden idol back he lost in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Attila the Professor said:Isn't that more or less what we got in the fourth film, plugging in Karen Allen for Jonathan Ke Quan and the Ark for the golden idol?
neverAcquiesce said:Essentially. But Shortie would hopefully serve as more than fan-appeasing window dressing. He could be the Robin to Indy's Batman -- or, more appropriately, Nightwing -- that they wanted Mutt to be, with the added benefit of plausible backstory and, most likely, fan approval.
Attila the Professor said:I'm not sure how bringing in a character some 25 years later in place of Indy's son is a more plausible backstory.
neverAcquiesce said:I meant that Short Round already has a plausible backstory (introduced in an earlier film, linked via the Lost Journal) for adventuring with Indy that a new character wouldn't.
Montana Smith said:Shorty was a kid in the stereotypical '80s movie mould. Being Asian he was obviously going to be a martial arts expert. Being the '80s he was going to be precocious. His relationship with Indy was at best uncomfortable. He looked up to Indy as the father figure who would take him to America and make him part of a family again. At the same time he naively saw himself as Indy's bodyguard. All-in-all those factors made for a character even more unappealing than Mutt.
Seeing him as an adult would only dredge up that uncomfortable past. And two 'sons' would sideline Indy even further, as a father figure watchfully looking out for the 'young-uns'.
After KOTCS Indy desperately needs to win back his credibility. That movie put him on the back-foot, and shouldered him with burdens. I don't want to see Indy turning into an episode of Bonanza with Harry playing the Lorne Greene role, or worse still, Little House of the Prairie.
Attila the Professor said:But then they would need to account for all those years in-between, particularly incorporating just what their connection was during the time of Last Crusade. And the Lost Journal link - apart from being in a book that only people like us care about - is one that many of us would happily forget. What brings him back out of the woodwork for another adventure? Surely he just hasn't been hanging around waiting to be put into danger again.
neverAcquiesce said:Oh, I'm far for arguing for this...merely fleshing it out in my own mind if that was the route they ended up taking.
Which they won't.
jeshopk said:Here are some reasons I think Jonathan Ke Quan's return in Indy 5 would make absolute sense:
1) More action. Jonathan is a stunt choreographer and would add more thrills than a Mac or Oxley or Marion type sidekick would at this point.
2) His interaction with Mutt (presumably returning) could be quite humorous. Indy was Shorty's "father" for a time, and it could provide some dynamic to make Mutt and Indy bond in some realistic way. Both being different kinds of sons to Indy, there's something they already have in common.
3) Jonathan is great and very down to earth in interviews. The character would probably not be written wacky. He's an archaeologist.
4) Female love interest! Indy can't have one being married, so presumably it's going to be Mutt that gets the girl. Shorty and Mutt could have a little rivalry over the heroine.
So, if Mutt's going to be there anyway, it would be good to see Shorty there as Mutt's "Brother". The choice between Mutt alone or Mutt and Shorty splitting the "younger action hero" function is obvious. Kung fu it up! Shorty could even teach Mutt some kung fu. And it could take place in China.
jeshopk said:Here are some reasons I think Jonathan Ke Quan's return in Indy 5 would make absolute sense:
1) More action. Jonathan is a stunt choreographer and would add more thrills than a Mac or Oxley or Marion type sidekick would at this point.
2) His interaction with Mutt (presumably returning) could be quite humorous. Indy was Shorty's "father" for a time, and it could provide some dynamic to make Mutt and Indy bond in some realistic way. Both being different kinds of sons to Indy, there's something they already have in common.
3) Jonathan is great and very down to earth in interviews. The character would probably not be written wacky. He's an archaeologist.
4) Female love interest! Indy can't have one being married, so presumably it's going to be Mutt that gets the girl. Shorty and Mutt could have a little rivalry over the heroine.
So, if Mutt's going to be there anyway, it would be good to see Shorty there as Mutt's "Brother". The choice between Mutt alone or Mutt and Shorty splitting the "younger action hero" function is obvious. Kung fu it up! Shorty could even teach Mutt some kung fu. And it could take place in China.
I second the motion.Hanselation said:I totally agree
replican't said:No way. He was an annoying brat in the first place and him and that mouthy blonde bird pretty much ruined Temple of Doom.
jeshopk said:Here are some reasons I think Jonathan Ke Quan's return in Indy 5 would make absolute sense:
1) More action. Jonathan is a stunt choreographer and would add more thrills than a Mac or Oxley or Marion type sidekick would at this point.
2) His interaction with Mutt (presumably returning) could be quite humorous. Indy was Shorty's "father" for a time, and it could provide some dynamic to make Mutt and Indy bond in some realistic way. Both being different kinds of sons to Indy, there's something they already have in common.
3) Jonathan is great and very down to earth in interviews. The character would probably not be written wacky. He's an archaeologist.
4) Female love interest! Indy can't have one being married, so presumably it's going to be Mutt that gets the girl. Shorty and Mutt could have a little rivalry over the heroine.
So, if Mutt's going to be there anyway, it would be good to see Shorty there as Mutt's "Brother". The choice between Mutt alone or Mutt and Shorty splitting the "younger action hero" function is obvious. Kung fu it up! Shorty could even teach Mutt some kung fu. And it could take place in China.