REPORT: Steven Spielberg Will Not Direct ‘Indiana Jones 5’
Variety is reporting that Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg is exiting the director’s chair for the upcoming Indiana Jones 5.
The report comes just as cameras are set to roll on the new film. Harrison Ford had said that filming will begin on the movie “in about two months.” The actor later backtracked a bit, saying there were still some script issues to work out, and production wouldn’t start until they got everything right.
The Indiana Jones franchise will celebrate its 40th anniversary next year. The film is slated to open July 9, 2021.
The decision to step down as director was Spielberg’s, Variety reported. His decision was based on wanting a new director to bring a fresh approach to the Indiana Jones franchise.
Sources quoted by Variety say James Mangold is in discussions to step in as director. The Oscar-nominated Mangold has an impressive resume, having directed Ford vs. Ferrari, Logan, Walk the Line, 3:10 to Yuma, and Cop Land.
Spielberg will remain on as executive producer, however.
Disney first announced plans for a new Indiana Jones movie in 2016, with a release date of July 19, 2019. That was pushed to July 10, 2020, and then again to 2021 after original screenwriter David Koepp (who wrote Jurassic Park and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) left the project. Jonathan Kasdan (whose father Lawrence Kasdan wrote Raiders of the Lost Ark) is now writing the script.
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