Harrison Ford claims Indiana Jones 5 is coming together nicely and should begin shooting as soon as next week... which seems rather unlikely. While Lucasfilm has released multiple Star Wars films since they were bought by Disney, they've yet to bring Ford's iconic archaeologist back to the big screen. The studio announced plans for Indiana Jones 5 in 2016, but has already delayed it twice to a Summer 2021 release date. In the meantime, both Steven Spielberg's trusted collaborator David Koepp and Solo: A Star Wars Story co-writer Jonathan Kasdan have taken a stab at the script.
Most recently, it was reported This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman had been hired to work on a different Indiana Jones 5 script than Kasdan's. And while the news of another substantial rewrite doesn't inspired confidence, it's taking place well before Spielberg (who's attached to direct the film) is expected to begin production on Dr. Jones' most likely final adventure in early to mid-2020. Except, according to Ford, filming on Indiana Jones 5 is going to start a whole lot sooner than that.
Ford's latest Indiana Jones 5 update is dubious at best. Spielberg is currently preparing to start production on his West Side Story remake this summer for a December 2020 launch, which suggests he won't be directing another Indiana Jones movie in the immediate future. It's possible Ford was simply joking in his response to Variety, or possibly even misquoted. Alternatively, he might've been kidding about Indiana Jones 5 beginning to shoot "next week" and meant it in a figurative sense. Either way, there's been little to no indication the movie will be ready to start filming this month. There haven't even been any official casting announcements so far, other than Lucasfilm confirming Ford's return.
Spielberg has a history of releasing two movies in rapid succession, like when The Post and Ready Player One came out three months apart just over a year ago. He's currently scheduled to release West Side Story and Indiana Jones 5within seven months of each other, so it's plausible he's aiming to close that gap and get to work on the latter immediately after he's finished shooting his musical. That might explain Ford's comments, though it still doesn't account for him claiming filming will begin next week. So, unless Spielberg's left Indiana Jones 5 and Lucasfilm has been sitting on the news, it's fair to assume there's some misinformation in the mix here. Hopefully, the studio will shed some light on the situation in the foreseeable future.
