Frank Marshall has confirmed that James Mangold will be directing Indiana Jones 5, with Steven Spielberg on board as a producer.
Speaking to Collider, Marshall, who has served as a creative voice on all four Indiana Jones films, reiterated that Spielberg won’t be back to direct Indy 5 despite being attached to the project for several years. Instead, Mangold will be signing on as the director of Indy’s next adventure.
Marshall explained why Mangold was the ideal choice to take over for Spielberg:
“His love of the franchise. He’s a wonderful filmmaker. I think he also has a relationship with Harrison. It was all of the right pieces coming together, at the right time. Steven is staying on as a producer, so we’ve got the best of everything.”
Marshall also revealed that scripting had only “just started” on the fifth instalment of the iconic film series, so very little is currently known about the plot. However, Ford previously hinted that the story would focus on “new developments” in Indy’s life, as well as seeing part of the character’s “history resolved.”
Indiana Jones 5 is currently scheduled for release on July 29, 2022. Unfortunately, that release date has already been pushed back multiple times, and the possibility of another delay is still present, as Marshall noted how the COVID-19 crisis is likely to impact production.
“We’re looking at the guidelines that are coming slowly, from the health experts and the studios and the different parts of the business, and we’re just trying to incorporate everything, so we can move forward and be safe,” he said. “It’s going to obviously slow things down, so we’re trying to adjust. You won’t see a lot of big crowd scenes, for example, for a while.”
While we wait for Indy to return check out Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures on Amazon now.
