Just like one of the intrepid archaeologist’s expeditions into some booby-trapped temple, the journey to get Indiana Jones 5 in cinemas has been extremely bumpy. It’s been hit by numerous production and release delays and even lost Steven Spielberg earlier this year. The project is still progressing though, with Harrison Ford set to don his hat and whip one more time, but we’ve just learned that it’s lost yet another writer.
David Koepp (Spider-Man) was hired to pen the script last September, but in a new interview with Collider, the screenwriter has revealed that he’s since stepped away from the movie. According to Koepp, he walked away to let new director James Mangold (Logan) put his own stamp on the story.
“When James Mangold came in…he deserves a chance to take his shot at it,” Koepp revealed. “I’d done several versions with Steven [Spielberg]. And when Steven left, it seemed like the right time to let Jim have his own take on it and have his own person or himself write it.”
Before Koepp, both Jonathan Kasdan and Dan Fogelman had also handed in drafts for Indy 5 before departing. In this case, though, it’s probably for the best. Spielberg and Koepp’s frequent partnership has resulted in some classics over the years, including Jurassic Park and War of the Worlds, but they were also responsible for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. So maybe it was the right move for both to step aside and let a fresh talent like Mangold take a crack at it.
Back in 2016, Disney decreed that Indiana Jones 5 would arrive in July 2019, but with all the production troubles, it got pushed back to July 2020, then July 2021 and finally, due to the pandemic this time, July 2022. It seems this will be Ford’s final outing in the lead role, too, but the studio certainly has plans for more, probably focusing on the next generation of the Jones family.