It's a sure thing! James Mangold will direct "Indiana Jones 5".

Luca Fontana

26.5.2020

Translation: machine translated

The rumours are confirmed: in 2022, the man with the hat and whip will return to the big screen. The film will be directed by James Mangold, who has already produced "Logan" and "Ford v. Ferrari".

Rumours had been swirling since last February that James Mangold would replace Steven Spielberg for a fifth "Indiana Jones".

Spielberg, who in the 1980s conceived probably the most famous archaeologist of all time with George Lucas, the creator of "Star Wars", will take on the production of the film. At least that's what some sources close to the American are claiming.

We now know that the rumours are no more.

Frank Marshall in an interview with Collider

In a interview for Collider, Hollywood producer Frank Marshall has confirmed the rumours.

Marshall himself is no stranger. It was he who produced all the Indiana Jones films with George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. What's more, his stamp can also be found on classics such as "Back to the Future", "The Sixth Sense" and the "Bourne" franchise. In the same interview, Marshall also confessed to wanting to reboot Jason Bourne soon.

Mangold, on the other hand, is a director whose great strength is breaking out of obsolete genres and adapting them to modern audiences: be it the biopic genre with "Walk the Line", the western genre with "3:10 to Yuma", the lone wolf genre with "Logan" or the racing driver genre with "Ford v. Ferrari".

Mangold's films have been nominated for 14 Oscars. "Ford v. Ferrari" won two most recently. Mangold himself has been nominated for two Oscars, but has yet to win any.

Shooting: not before 2021; theatrical release: not before 2022

The film probably won't be shot until 2021. It certainly has nothing to do with the current pandemic. When asked where Mangold was in writing the script, the producer replied, "He's only just started."

One thing's for sure: the script, written by David Koepp and already reviewed countless times, won't be used. Probably a small defeat for the writer, who has already delivered the scripts for "Jurassic Park" and seven of the eight "Harry Potter" films. Mangold is known for adding his own touch to scripts or even writing them from scratch. So it's no surprise that the director is making no exception for 'Indiana Jones'. Whatever Spielberg and Koepp originally planned for the fifth instalment of the saga, Mangold wants his own take on the whip-wielding archaeologist.

That's a pretty good sign.

For years, George Lucas had to convince Spielberg to make "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". And it showed in the end result. So does the story of the current production : in addition to the script being revised many times; it went from David Koepp, to Jonathan Kasdan, then to Dan Fogelman and then back to Koepp; the theatrical release has already been postponed twice. The reasons: Spielberg's busy schedule and doubts about the quality of the script.

With Mangold, it looks like the step backwards that seemed necessary has been taken. However, filming, announced in the summer by Harrison Ford, is likely to be postponed for at least a year, as is the theatrical release.

Currently confirmed release date: 29 July 2022.

Don't want to miss out on anything from the world of film and television? Then follow me by clicking on the "Follow the author" button.

Luca Fontana

Senior Editor

Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.ch

I'm an outdoorsy guy and enjoy sports that push me to the limit – now that’s what I call comfort zone! But I'm also about curling up in an armchair with books about ugly intrigue and sinister kingkillers. Being an avid cinema-goer, I’ve been known to rave about film scores for hours on end. I’ve always wanted to say: «I am Groot.» more