What happened between 1993 and 2000?

We all know the last 5+ years of Indy 4 history pretty well. However, there's a big gap in my knowledge of the project.

From my own point of view, I remember the official announcement of (circa) October 1993 when our three friends said that they were going to reconvene some day to make a fourth instalment -- but the next I really heard of it was early 2000 when the first three films came out on video in 2.35:1. There were short 'making-of's on those tapes and George Lucas said they had a script for number 4.

It started rolling thereafter, with Spielberg giving an interview about A.I. in 2001 in which he said (something like) "the Indy 4 hat is halfway on my head".

But is there any definite history of those quieter years? Who wrote that script Lucas talked of in 1999/2000? Did 'the big three' say anything about the film in that time?

Has anyone put together a chronological, “in their own words”, collection of soundbites from the Indy alumni dating from, well, 1989 onwards? They’ve certainly been asked for updates often enough! What a fascinating read that would be.

Thats a good question.

There was the Atlantis talk in the early 90's (I still think it would have been great to have had an Atlantis movie in 1993/4) and then relatively nothing until 2000 when it was rumoured that 'man of the moment' M Night would be taking on scripting duties.

I suppose both Spielberg and Ford were busy in the late 90's trying other things, and Lucas had those other little movies to concentrate on.

Apparently it was Ford that got momentum going on Indy 4 again a few years back. I suppose following on from a string of lacklustre efforts (K19/Hollywood Homicide/Firewall) a return to Indy seemed like the perfect antidote.

Wikipedia says that Jeffrey Boam (scripter for LC) had a go at the script in 1995...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_Jones_4

The earliest rumblings began around 1993. Ford realized that his getting back to action (The Fugitive) was what people wanted to see, and admitted he would like to don the fedora again. But there were never any serious plans at this time, with (post-Schindler) Spielberg saying he couldn't return to "cartoon nazis" any time soon.

It was mainly just Ford saying he would do it "in a New York minute" whenever he was asked. And Ford was doing a lot of press over the next year, with The Fugitive generating Oscar buzz and the increasing popularity of Tom Clancy/Jack Ryan. As a result, Indy 4 was suddenly rumoured to be released in Summer 1995. I assume this is the period that ultimately led to the Saucer Men script (Jeb Stuart).

When that script was rejected, the project seemed to return to the realm of interview/fan speculation. In 1996, the Sons of Darkness script surfaced online. This was the first of many plots which would be released online over the next few years. The script was ultimately revealed to be a fan creation, but at the time, people weren't sure what to make of it.

The same year, Spielberg suggested in an interview that the plot would concern Adam and Eve. (This would later be hinted at in a 2002 interview, when Spielberg said he would like Indy 4 to center around a "mature love story, ala Robin and Marion".) He also admitted that Atlantis had never been under consideration for the plot.

During 1997, Ford was spotted in Hawaii filming Six Days, Seven Nights. This led to a new rumour that Indiana Jones and the Lost Continent was underway.

The biggest momentum came in 1998. Spielberg gave an interview where he admitted his children always asked him, "When are you going to make another Indiana Jones?" He revealed that he had promised them he would, and that the fedora was halfway on his head again. Lucas seemed very eager too, and most were expecting an announcement at any time. Cinescape even released an issue with Indy (rope bridge) on the cover and the headline, "He's Back!"

There were also two mysterious scripts that surfaced via brief excerpts. The first, Raiders of the Fallen Empire (Garrett Black), was said to be under consideration by both Lucas and Paramount. It was alleged to center around the discovery of the Garden of Eden, which recalled Spielberg's earlier remarks. The second, Law of One, featured the return of Willie Scott (and her daughter), a 1950's setting, and an ancient device which had destroyed Atlantis. The latter was reportedly just another work of fan fiction, however...

It's interesting to note that all of those elements have resurfaced over the years. Ford and Capshaw have suggested Willie Scott will return. There have been rumours of Indy having a daughter. A 1950's setting has been mentioned several times. And the developers of IJ and the Infernal Machine reported that their storyline had to be altered, for fear that it would interfere with the plot of Indy 4.

Personally, I think 1998 was the closest the project came to happening, with Darabont's script being the next "near miss". During press for Minority Report, Spielberg admitted they were ready to go in 1998, but the script simply fell apart. Everything else has (seemingly) been fanned by the internet and the fact that interviewers continue to ask about Indy 4.

Does anyone remember a script by Chris Columbus? I saw it online right around the time I found this place. I think it was dated '95 or so.

I remember when I was younger hearing about an Indy 4. And you're right, news of it really didn't start up again until at least 2000.

The Columbus script was IJ and Monkey King. It was originally intended as Indy III, with many elements (such as a tank chase) making their way into Last Crusade.

The Chris Columbus script was redated by someone to make it look like they had an Indy 4 script.

Saucermen was written by Jeb Stuart of Die Hard fame, not Boam (unless Boam tackled an extremely early draft, and judging by the final saucermen script we have seen, I don't want to see an early rejected version of it).

Anyways, I think what would be the ultimate thing for Indy fans would be a comprehensive making of Indy 4 book that covered all of the development, and included a CD with PDF's of every script that was ever in consideration. Only then would I be truly satisfied.

DarthLowBudget said:

Saucermen was written by Jeb Stuart of Die Hard fame, not Boam (unless Boam tackled an extremely early draft, and judging by the final saucermen script we have seen, I don't want to see an early rejected version of it).

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No, that's correct. Boam's name has basically been credited to every fake script over the years (ie. Sons of Darkness; etc.), which is probably why I always want to credit him for Saucermen as well.

DarthLowBudget said:

Anyways, I think what would be the ultimate thing for Indy fans would be a comprehensive making of Indy 4 book that covered all of the development, and included a CD with PDF's of every script that was ever in consideration. Only then would I be truly satisfied.

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Absolutely -- wouldn't that be great? In fact, we really need a book about the entire saga. Surely, next year, we might well get it?

Thanks for all the replies.

Has anyone here actually read Sons of Darkness? I've heard the basic storyline but was it any good?

What does it matter?

I mean, it was a fan script right?


Hmm...

I know it would never happen, but we should petition Lucasfilm to release the development info for the movie at some point.

Violet Indy said:

Has anyone here actually read Sons of Darkness? I've heard the basic storyline but was it any good?

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Not really. I remember thinking it could've been an okay comic miniseries, but not a good movie. It was basically noteworthy for being one of the first alleged script leaks. Even Lucasfilm didn't seem to know what to make of it, and threatened to sue.

There wasn't much action in it, as Indy spent 2/3 of the plot just trying to make his way to Mt. Ararat. Most of the story focused on his 12-year-old son, who decided to run away and look for Noah's Ark.

It was also somewhat depressing. Marion had become an alcoholic. Henry Sr. died (offscreen) within the first few pages. And Indy was semi-retired from globe-trotting. (In fact, it was a little surprising at how much Indy acknowledged his age- especially considering this was back before people starting making old jokes about Indy 4.)

Noah's Ark made for a very anticlimactic finale, and there were far too many nods to Raiders. I was glad to see Koepp acknowledge that they are going to try and avoid that type of thing in Indy 4.

Another thing that ties quite nicely into everything that's happened is Hal Barwood's comment in an interview back in '98 when they were developing the Infernal Machine:

"We had another story to go for at first, but the company told us to put it on hold, because they might use it one day to make a movie."

It remains unrevealed of which story he does talk about, but it certainly fits the timeframe. Also would explain why we never saw a script; it was penned out as a plot outline that got George quite excited but it never made it into completed script...

Plus, it's another viable explanation to the current "McGuffin" speech. With lot of ifs, naturally.

Now that's interesting, i wonder what the game was originally supposed to be about.

Finn said:

It remains unrevealed of which story he does talk about, but it certainly fits the timeframe.

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Yes, I agree with that theory.

The only disappointing thing here is that, it basically sounds like Spielberg and Ford just said, "Fine, George, we'll do your idea." And if true, that means we could've had Indy 4 nearly a decade earlier.

So did Hal Barwood stumble upon one of the ideas already being considered by Lucasfilm, or did he discover the exciting macguffin himself (contrary to Lucas's claim)? I'm sure he's eager to tell. Make a note to ask him next year.

Actually, more I think of it, more viable it appears that the "mystery screenwriter" we've been looking for the movie they were planning in the late 90s is Hal Barwood.

After all, he did pen Spielberg's early thriller Sugarland Express. He was also helping screenwrite Close Encounters of the Third Kind, plus he had given already proof he can write an Indy adventure by the means of plot in FoA.

There were rumors of Indy going after Atlantis in the mid 90s. Barwood's involvement works as a partial explanation for those too.

A lot of guesswork here, but the evidence clinches together nicely nevertheless.

When was Infernal Machine released, and when did it start development? The second question is more important than the first.

DarthLowBudget said:

When was Infernal Machine released, and when did it start development? The second question is more important than the first.

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It was released in 1999.

Considering it uses the original Jedi Knight's engine which was released in '97... as the code it uses has been around since '95, that's absolutely as far back as we can draw IM's technical development as well. However, it seems likely that IM did not enter development until after Jedi Knight.

Storyboard stage could of course have existed for god knows how long... all the way since FoA hit shelves for all we know. But as usual, it seems likely we're going past mid 90s with this phase of development as well.

So, to answer the second question, sometime between 1997-99 most likely.

So it would've started after all the Alien scripts were written in 95 then. Interesting. I was going to suggest that the game may have been more Alien themed, and they had to change that to make way for the alien sripts, but if it was started 97-98 then I am considerably more intrigued by this.

Gah! This is killing me! I wonder how long before we start to find out what he's after...