The Major Hurdle Of Making An Indiana Jones Film Today, According To James Mangold
Is it possible to make a true Indiana Jones film set in the '60s?
The Indiana Jones franchise both started and peaked in the ‘80s. Harrison Ford was a dashing young action star, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas were just becoming household names, and setting the original trilogy five decades in the past allowed them to have a recurring villain everyone could rally around defeating: Nazis. It was a recipe for success. Now, with the latest addition to the franchise, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, we see a much older Ford and, inevitably, a later setting where World War II has ended. So who is the new villain? How does a 70-year-old Indy fit in during the ‘60s? Where are the Nazis?! Director James Mangold gave me the lowdown on all of it.
I recently spoke with Mangold in celebration of the film's upcoming release and addressed these difficulties. He gave a rather poignant response, citing one big hurdle in particular that would provide some trouble creating an Indy story in 2023:
So it seems that Mangold romanticized these classic elements just as much as the rest of us. So much so that in his mind, Indiana Jones movies are representative of Golden Age movies in general. He noticeably left out Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, of which he previously noted he had one big issue with, but in all fairness, that film was overcoming many of the same obstacles.
It’s clear that Mangold struggled not only with Indy aging, but how a classic hero like Indiana Jones fits into that modern age. Specifically, Mangold dug into exactly why Indy’s glory days were largely over, noting that a serious cultural shift towards Modernism may be more difficult for a character who no longer deals in the moral simplicity of WWII:
And prove himself he does! It’s delightful to see Indiana Jones back to kicking ass on the silver screen, and yes, he does fight more Nazis. Harrison Ford has said in the past he’d always wanted to return to Indiana Jones, and given the fact that he doesn’t even seem close to retiring, this film was inevitable. Folks are, in general, saying positive things about Ford’s new movie, and with Steven Spielberg around to give James Mangold advice, it’s easy to imagine that this is going to be a worthy installment, despite the hurdle of jumping forward so many years.
You can see the film for yourself on June 30! It’s yet another highly-anticipated addition in what's turning out to be a killer summer 2023 movie release schedule.
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Jeff started his career producing television commercials in his hometown of Fresno, California. After a few years, he came across the opportunity to make a living talking about his favorite thing: movies. Jeff is a film buff who is full of gratitude that he gets to spout opinions about them for a living. He currently resides in Los Angeles, where he spends his time complaining about Los Angeles.