By While we’ve heard little about Indiana Jones 5 over the last year, the biggest update on the film was that director Steven Spielberg had left the project. A massive shock to fans, this would mean that whatever the fifth film was, it would be the first to not be helmed by the legendary director. What happened behind the scenes? In a tale as old as time, it turns out Spielberg left the project over creative differences.
In a new interview posted by Den of Geek, screenwriter David Koepp reveals that the main reason Spielberg’s vision of Indiana Jones 5 fell apart was that no one could agree on a script. “I tried a couple different versions with Steven and they all had some good stuff about them,” Koepp explains, “and they all had some stuff that didn’t work, which happens. But it was just very hard to have everybody come together and have all the elements – Steven, Harrison (Ford), the script and Disney – come together at once. And it didn’t.”
Koepp similarly left the project with Spielberg after they had attempted to come to some common ground with new director James Mangold. Ultimately, the split was amicable as Koepp didn’t want to infringe on Mangold’s new direction. “The last thing you need is some guy sitting around with his arms folded saying, ‘Well, the way Steven would have done it is…’ I had one nice friendly conversation with him and then I’m sure he wanted to be able to move on anyway. Everybody was pretty polite, I thought.”
At this point, it might be wise to shelf the entire project. Harrison Ford is getting up there in years and there’s not really much else that can be done with the character. Other franchises have taken up the helm that Indiana Jones started and it might be a good idea to welcome new blood into Hollywood rather than drag a fossil around. With production going well on Uncharted, that could honestly continue the legacy of what Indiana Jones was.
Source: Den of Geek
