Indiana Jones 5 delayed, Solo screenwriter joins project.
Despite Steven Spielberg previously stating that production would begin on Indiana Jones 5 early next year, with a release date of July 10th, 2020, sources say that filming and the film’s subsequent release will be delayed by up to twelve months. The news comes in the wake of reports that Jonathan Kasdan is close to signing on to rewrite the screenplay.
The son of Lawrence Kasdan, who penned the iconic franchise launcher Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jonathan Kasdan is fresh off of the release of Solo: A Star Wars Story, another relaunch of sorts of a famous Harrison Ford role. David Koepp, who penned the fourth film in the franchise, 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, wrote the first draft. That draft looks to be going through significant rewrites, and may have been scrapped altogether.
Spielberg and Ford’s commitment to the project has reportedly not wavered in light of these changes, though it can be said that audiences aren’t exactly clamouring for another revival of the franchise following Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Spielberg is currently in pre-production on a remake of West Side Story as well as development on a biographical drama starring Mark Rylance.
At this stage, no official change to the release slate has been made, and Disney, the film’s distributor, has not yet commented on the reports.
Source: Variety