Thank The Maker! George Lucas Not Involved With ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Story
In March, Disney announced thatSteven Spielbergwould be returning to directHarrison Fordina newIndiana Jonesmovie. While most of the internet was skeptical and cynical about the announcement,I was hopefulthatIndiana Jones 5could be a return to form for the beloved franchise. One of the reasons I cited was thatGeorge Lucasisnot involved in this new film. Director Steven Spielberg latercommentedthat Lucas would be involved as an executive producer on the project, stating “I would never make anIndiana Jonesfilm without George Lucas. That’d be insane.” This comment has worried a lot of people, as Lucas was widely blamed for the most horrible aspects of the last installment,Indiana Jones and the Kindom of the Crystal Skull.
But don’t worry, my initial report seems to be confirmed by new comments fromIndiana Jones 5 screenwriterDavid Koepp. Find out what he says about George Lucas Indiana Jones 5 involvement, after the jump.
Collidercaught up with Indiana Jones 5 screenwriterDavid Koepp, who revealed that Lucas is not involved in the project, at least at a script level: “He’s not, to my knowledge. I’ve had no contact with him.” Koepp also says that how they are approaching the next installment weighs heavily on the MacGuffin:
The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull screenwriter seems to believe that the MacGuffin may have been the reason why the last film may not have worked as well as it should have. And I agree, most of my problems with the fourth film stem from the alien and sci-fi framing that George Lucas reportedly wouldn’t let go of. The idea for the new film was apparently designed by Spielberg himself alongside Koepp. He won’t give much away, only saying: “I really like our idea; I think it’s clean and simple and makes a lot of sense, and I feel like the writing is going really well.”
I’m very grateful for everything George Lucas has created, but I’m happy he will not have his fingers in this installment. And remember, this whole thing will be spearheaded byKathleen Kennedyat Lucasfilm. It’s a very different environment this time around. As I stated in my argument for why you should be excited about this sequel, I think Speilberg feels he has something to prove with this next movie andDisney apparently wants to run with this franchisein the same way they are with Star Wars
