Was River Phoenix supposed to be the next Indiana Jones ?

[dprog]

I read somewhere on the internet that George Lucas,Harrison Ford and Spielberg wanted to cast River Pheonix as Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones 4,5,6.(Kinda like James Bond that changes actor after some movies)
But River Pheonix's unexpected death ruined that.

Is it true ?

 

[SnakeSurprise]

Never heard that one.

 

[emtiem]

I wouldn't have thought so; you can't have your star doing an impression of the last guy the whole time.

 

[Forbidden Eye]

They didn’t get him for The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, and he was alive to do some of that, so I take that rumor as unsubstantial.

 

[Mickiana]

I used to think it would have been great to get three blockbuster Indiana Jones movies each decade. The 80's trilogy was lightning caught in a bottle. The 90's, 00's and 10's could have delivered another 9 or so movies. but that's real fanboy thinking. The more you do, the more room there is for negative stuff to happen. Familiarity breeds contempt. TBH, I'm still of two minds. There was something so intrinsically alluring and fascinating with the world of IJ and I seem to recall one member from long ago, I forget his name, he was a welder like me, saying he could watch Indiana Jones just digging potsherds and I know what he meant. Done right, maybe the world of IJ would never weary us?

 

[Mickiana]

Sorry, the above strayed a bit. It was the "4,5,6" in the first post that set me off. If they had have done something like I mentioned, that is 3 or so blockbusters per decade, I don't think it would have been a problem keeping Harrison as IJ the whole time. Replacing HF would not have been a consideration, if he was keen of course to stay the course. Many, many ifs. But when HF hangs up the hat, I don't mind the idea of a younger actor taking on the role and returning to earlier timelines.

 

[emtiem]

Yeah I'm sure it's the same for most of us on here, but whenever I catch a Harrison Ford movie from the 90s or 00s or 2010s even, there's a bit of my brain which always says 'he's still not too old in this to have done another Indy movie'!