It’s only been a week since producer Frank Marshall confirmed that principal photography on Indiana Jones 5 had officially wrapped, but given that we’re talking about the latest (and most likely final) installment in one of Hollywood’s most iconic franchises, expectations are already starting to build.
Having been pushed back by an entire year, director James Mangold has plenty of time to streamline his vision for Harrison Ford’s swansong as the adventuring archeologist, with the movie not due to hit theaters until June 30, 2023.
Indy 5 is arguably under more pressure than any of the other sequels for two reasons in particular, namely the absence of Steven Spielberg from the director’s chair, and the polarizing response to the regularly-reviled Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Shooting may have finished, but Mangold didn’t start the editing process until today.
Taking to Twitter, the filmmaker urged fans to be patient, which certainly makes it sound as though he’s been bombarded with questions and requests from enthusiastic folks demanding to know when they can expect images, footage, or even a confirmed title.
We’ve still got a long way to go until Indiana Jones 5 is unleashed upon the world, but at least we know that Mangold ans his team aren’t being forced to race towards a locked-in deadline, as would have been the case had it stuck to that 2022 debut.
The whip-cracking legend is one of modern cinema’s legendary figures, so let’s hope that his real last crusade turns out to be a fitting farewell.