Harrison Ford is an iconic American actor, who has starred in a variety of beloved franchises. Ford's been returning to those roles lately, recently appearing as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner 2049, as well as Han Solo in The Force Awakens and Return of the Jedi. He's set to complete the trifecta by playing the title character of the fifth Indiana Jones movie. The movie recently got a new release date in 2022, but this is far from the first time that the long gestating blockbuster was delayed. So let's break it all down.
The movie industry is currently standstill over global health concerns. Theaters are shut down, movies are pushed back, and sets have been closed. Indiana Jones 5 was one movie that was seemingly gearing up for production, but its currently unclear when Harrison Ford will be able to rock Indy's whip and hat. The movie was recently pushed to July 29, 2022, and it's far from the first unexpected development to come out of the upcoming blockbuster. In fact, it's the third intended date for Indiana Jones' next sequel.
Indiana Jones 5's journey to theaters began back in 2009. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull actor Shia Lebouf was quoted saying that Steven Spielberg had figured out the movie's story. The next few years saw a few others claiming the script was done, but there were no details as to when this could become a reality.
The situation changed in 2012, when Disney acquired Lucasfilm and its properties. Indiana Jones was one such asset, and the House of Mouse didn't exactly rush to get the franchise back in theaters. Years went by until 2015, when Disney announced plans for the fifth movie with a release date of July 19th, 2019. Steven Spielberg was set to direct, with George Lucas involved as an executive producer. But despite these exciting announcements, filming didn't begin, and Indiana Jones 5 was pushed back to July 10th, 2020.
Unfortunately, filming didn't begin at the end of 2019 as planned. Disney struggled to find a writer for the project, after approaching A Quiet Place screenwriters Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, with Solo writer Jonathan Kasdan eventually landing the gig. This writer shakeup resulted in the movie once again being delayed, this time to July 9, 2021. There were also reports of Dan Fogelman sighing on to write the project.
The next big obstacle came when Steven Spielberg departed his role as director of Indiana Jones 5 in February of 2020. The last we heard Logan director James Mangold was in talks to helm the project, with Spielberg staying on as an executive producer. But this shake up, as well as the lack of film sets, resulted in the latest delay.
Thats the full history of delays, and there were many. Let's just hope that things change for the better soon, and that Indiana Jones 5 actually arrived in theaters on July 29, 2022. In the meantime, check out our 2020 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
