It appears that Disney and Lucasfilm’s plans for theIndiana Jonesfranchise go far beyond one more movie. WhileIndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skullkind of proved that this was a franchise better left alone, we learned in March that directorSteven Spielbergand starHarrison Fordare indeed reuniting forIndiana Jones 5, with the film set for release in July 2019. Now, given the fact that Ford will be 77 years old by the time this movie is released, one might reasonably assume this is his last go-around with the character—after all, a guy can only lead an action-adventure franchise for so long, even if you are Harrison Ford.
However, given that Lucasfilm owns theIndiana Jonesfranchise and that Disney owns Lucasfilm, one mightalsoreasonably assume that the Mouse House has bigger plans in store for such a lucrative IP. Just last month, Disney CEOBob Igerconfirmed thatIndiana Jones 5is only just the beginning:
“Right now, we’re focused on a reboot, or a continuum and then a reboot of some sort…We’ll bring [Ford] back, then we have to figure out what comes next. That’s what I mean. It’s not really a reboot, it’s a boot — a reboot. I don’t know.”
If Iger was a bit confused on the terminology here, the folks running the story department at Lucasfilm are decidedly not. Earlier today at Star Wars Celebration Europe, a panel was held called “The Art of Storytelling”, which shone a light on the Lucasfilm Story Group, which serves to spearhead the overarching storytelling of the entireStar Warsfranchise, keeping the canon straight for the films, TV series, comic books, etc. But Lucasfilm isn’t justStar Wars, and during the panel—for which Collider’s own Perri Nemiroff was in attendance—ILM PresidentLynwen Brennanmade a curious note with regards to theIndiana Jonesmovies when speaking about the Story Group’s work on theStar Warsfranchise:
“Kiri [Hart]and her group have mapped out a story and timeline across multiple platforms many years in advance, manyexhaustingyears in advance. … We have a great honor to have responsibility for, so we want to be really careful with that. Not only forStar Warsbut withIndiana Jones, which we’re all really excited about as well.”
Brennan seems to suggest here that the Story Group—which comes up with and runs the story development for theStar Wars“episodes” and standalone films and how they all fit together—is also coming up with long-term story plans forIndiana Jones. Does this mean we’re getting an interconnectedIndiana Jonesmovieuniverse a laStar Wars, with proper sequels and then standalone films set within theIndyuniverse? Or does this simply mean they’re getting a head start on connecting the franchise across various platforms, from movies to video games to TV spinoffs?
At this point, we don’t know for sure, and given that the script forIndiana Jones 5isn’t even written yet, things could certainly change. But it’s definitely curious—and promising—to know that the very talented Lucasfilm Story Group is serving as caretaker of theIndiana Jonesuniverse, and it’s not hard to image Spielberg’s longtime producerKathleen Kennedy(now President of Lucasfilm) coming to the filmmaker with the prospect of him directing one finalIndiana Jonesmovie to kick off a new franchise.
My guess? The Story Group is running with whatever plans Spielberg has forIndiana Jones 5and also brainstorming potential ways to extend the franchise without rebooting it entirely and forsaking all that came before. Whether that means sequels likeIndiana Jones and the Return of Muttor prequels that delve deeper into Jones' backstory remains to be seen, but one thing’s for certain: theIndiana Jonesfranchise is far from complete.
