It's been 10 years since Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull came out, and while the fourth Indy movie was met with polarizing reactions from fans, that hasn't deter Lucasfilm from bringing Harrison Ford's fedora-wearing, whip-wielding character back to the big screen. Following Ready Player One's release, director Steven Spielberg is turning his attention to Indiana Jones 5, and word has come in that the movie has a new screenwriter: Jonathan Kasdan, who most recently penned Solo: A Star Wars Story alongside his father, Lawrence Kasdan.
According to Collider, Jonathan Kasfan has replaced David Koepp as Indiana Jones 5's writer, although representatives for Disney, Kasdan and Koepp did not respond for comment. David Koepp wrote Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and initially the plan was for him to tackle Indy's fifth cinematic adventure as well. However, assuming this report is accurate, then Kasdan is now assuming scripting duties in Koepp's place, although it's unclear if Kasdan is rewriting Koepp's entire script or if he's using the existing material as a foundation. It also wasn't revealed if Kasdan is penning the Indiana Jones 5 script by himself or with a partner. Koepp hs has previously worked with Steven Spielberg on Jurassic Park, The Lost World: The Jurassic Park and War of the Worlds.
Jonathan Kasdan's other writing credits include The First Time and episodes of Dawson's Creek, but Solo: A Star Wars Story is unquestionably his biggest project yet. While Solo ultimately ended up being a box office disappointment for Disney and Lucasfilm, critically, it earned a decent amount of positive reception. For those who were worried about Indiana Jones 5 ending up feeling too similar to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Kasdan stepping in to replace David Koepp may ease their concerns a little bit, though it will nonetheless be a challenging prospect making Indiana Jones 5 a worthy entry in this film series. It's also important to mention that as a result of the script not being nailed down quite yet, Variety reports that Indiana Jones 5 will not meet its April 2019 production start date. With shooting being delayed months, if not a whole year, the movie will subsequently not arrive on July 10, 2020 as was previously planned.
No plot details for Indiana Jones 5 have been disclosed to the public yet. All we know for certain is that Harrison Ford will once again portray archaeologist Henry Jones Jr. in what will probably be his final outing as the character. David Koepp also revealed last year that Shia LaBeouf will not be reprising Indy's son, Mutt Williams. If I had to guess, I'd say that even if Jonathan Kasdan is starting on Indiana Jones 5 from scratch, LaBeouf's absence will be kept intact, but anything is possible.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for continuing coverage on Indiana Jones 5. In the meantime, look through our 2018 release schedule to find out what movies are coming out later this year.
