The Indiana Jones franchise wrote itself the absolute perfect sendoff when, at the end of the 1989 picture titled Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, Indy (Harrison Ford) and his father (Sean Connery) rose off into the sunset, having completed the old man’s life-long quest. Only, the crew came back and made another movie. And it wasn’t very good. So they are trying again with an as-yet-untitled Indiana Jones 5, this time directed by Logan helmer James Mangold. There has been a flurry of social media activity surrounding the film as Mangold finally has begun filming. And for some reason, fans think they know the movie’s title, but Mangold’s here to tell them they are wrong:
So, draw a thick red line through Indiana Jones and the Empire of Evil on your list of working titles for the fifth Indiana Jones movie, thanks to James Mangold's tweet. But let’s discuss why fans think this might be the case. The set photos that have been circling around on social media suggest the return of Nazis to the screen for an Indiana Jones movie. Fans love seeing Harrison Ford’s infamous archaeologist punching Nazis, which tends to lead to Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade as the chosen fan favorites. If Germany’s Empire of Evil was expected to rise once again, then the title would make sense.
At the same time, there are suggestions that the Nazis could appear in a flashback that would explain an encounter Indy (Harrison Ford) had with the German troops at an earlier point, perhaps setting up the artifact Jones might be tracking in the 1970s -- where Indiana Jones 5 is expected to take place. Because the movie is going to have to account for Ford’s natural age (he’s turning 79 on July 13), so the Nazi scenes -- if there actually ARE Nazi scenes -- theoretically need to be a flashback.
Naturally, this is speculation on a title that we now know is wrong. That’s always fun, but we do appreciate James Mangold stepping in and shutting down a rumored title before it gets real heat. So, let’s run through the stuff that we DO know about Indiana Jones 5. Harrison Ford is back, but longtime director Steven Spielberg is not. Jonathan Kasdan is writing the sequel, though David Koepp gets credit as well (possibly for one of the story ideas he pitched to George Lucas over the years). The supporting cast currently includes Fleabag standout Phoebe Waller-Bridge (who also starred in Solo: A Star Wars Story for Lucasfilm), Boyd Holbrook, Shaunette Renée Wilson, Thomas Kretschmann, and the wonderful Mads Mikkelsen in a villain’s role.
We’ll continue to track the progress of Indiana Jones 5 as it works its way through production. It’s on track for a July 29, 2022 release date, so stay tuned.
