It was just last week that I was fervently hoping that Spielberg would choose Indiana Jones 5 as his next project over a contemporary remake of West Side Story. Those hopes looked like they’d been dashed on the rocks earlier today, however, as multiple news sources reported that the legendary director was all set to spend the next year or so working on setting urban gang warfare to toe-tappin’ musical numbers.
Now, though, it’s looking like those sources might have spoken too soon, as THR is reporting that Spielberg will indeed be moving into production on Indiana Jones 5 before he busies himself with West Side Story. Of course, a new Indy film isn’t quite the exciting news it should be given that his last stab at the franchise, the much-maligned Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, was a huge cinematic anticlimax for most audiences, but still, it’s nice to hear nonetheless.
The current plan is for Spielberg to spend 2018 in pre-production for Indy 5, with principal photography to begin in 2019 with a scheduled release date of July 10th, 2020 (by which time Harrison Ford will be 77-years-old). West Side Story will apparently begin shooting sometime after this, with Spielberg reportedly anxious to find the perfect cast to remake the legendary musical.
So, it’s looking as if the next couple of years are going to be great for Spielberg fans, then. We’ve already gotten the very impressive The Post, along with Ready Player One coming on March 30th, then Indiana Jones 5, then West Side Story. Rumor is that Spielberg might even be able to squeeze one more small-scale production into that busy schedule, too, between Ready Player One and Indy – though what that may be is currently unknown.
Still, there’s much to look forward to and we’re eager to see what the director does with Indiana Jones 5. What about you, though? Are you hyped up for the continuing adventures of the titular hero, or does Crystal Skull show that this is a franchise best left as a happy memory? Let us know in the comments section down below.