Forbidden Eye said:
No, he doesn't have to be exactly like Harry. But if you've seen Guardians,, there's one point where Pratt dances to a song from Flashdance, a very comedic moment that'd be too distracting if he brought it to Indy.
Look, I don't mind change, hell I'm the guy who loves Kingdom of the Crystal Skull because of its change from the original trilogy with both its different decade and its otherworldly MacGuffin. And I accept that, one day, the day will come that Indy will have to be played by someone else beside Ford if the series wants to continue.
But I do believe that the character itself can't have any drastic changes and has to be consistent with the previous installments. If he isn't, you might as well not make an Indiana Jones movie and make an "Indy-like" movie like National Treasure.
Right off the top of my head, I can think of a few different takes on Indy that would be interesting and filled with potential in their own way:
1. Indy as a Marshall College senior student, who gets wrapped up in his first big field-work adventure, and it acts as a type of origin story, telling how he became the gruff, dry-witted adventurer we love. If you really want to make a reboot that will bring him back to the Fordian persona in some way.
2. A much darker, more aggressive and mercenary Indy, ala TOD, who is put in situations where he has to keep being the reluctant hero. This one is probably going to appeal to the Dark 'n Gritty crowd most, but hey, one of Doom's biggest strengths is how its not scared to show Indy at his worst, in order to give him an utterly badass heroic arc. Why not do that again?
3. The other side of the coin: a more heroic, selfless Indiana but not like the 'idealistic college kid thrust into a deadly adventure' idea above. This is Indy well established, but he's got much more honor than we usually see. But in this version, he's constantly forced in scenarios that test his morals, resulting in some good moral drama for his character.
Which sounds most interesting to you lot? I would enjoy any of these takes.