It’s remarkable that in 2020 we are still talking about this legendary screen creation, some 40 years after he burst onto our screens in “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. Yet here we are, with Harrison Ford and the great Steven Spielberg onboard for another crack at Indy’s famous whip.
The most remarkable part of this story is undoubtedly the involvement of Ford, who after finally (much to his satisfaction) bowing out of the Star Wars franchise in 2015, seemed unlikely to want to revisit his other career character. Especially considering his last outing, 2008’s “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” did all but kill off Indy as it attempted to pass the torch (and the franchise) to Indy’s son Mutt (Shia LeBeouf). The film was poorly received but did make nearly $800M at the global box office.
As far as this shiny new installment goes, we know it should be gracing our screens sometime in 2021, more than likely in the summer as Lucasfilm and Kathleen Kennedy try to generate a big hit in the absence of any big-screen Star Wars. We know that at the moment the film will be penned by Jonathan Kasdan (“Solo”) and “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” writer David Koepp and that the film should begin shooting later this year if Ford is to be believed.
However, the biggest cause for intrigue for the Indy’s latest adventure again came from Ford himself whilst on press for his new adventure flick “The Call of the Wild”. Whilst sitting down with ‘HeyUGuys” the legendary actor stated he was only interested in returning if those at the top could offer him and the fans something they would never expect. He said, “I don’t really want to give them what they want to see, I want to give them something they didn’t anticipate,” said Ford. “They are used to a degree of disappointment when you revisit. Certainly, the Marvel movies have made a spectacular example of a success of worked the other way around, they killed it! Well, we’re not going to make another Indiana Jones unless we are in a position to kill it. We want it to be the best. We’ve got some scheduling issues and a few script things to do but we are determined to get it right before we get it made.”
If this comes to pass, it’s possible we could be in for one hell of a ride a year from now, though until then the jury is out. Any Indy fans may also be holding their breath for the fate of the character in the upcoming Movie, as maybe Ford and Spielberg have a magnificent end in store for the world’s most famous archaeologist.
Criterion's December lineup has some great additions to the library, but the title that jumped out at me is Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man," which officially joins the Collection on December 8.