Does anybody have any reliable info on the upcoming Indiana Jones?

Answer 1

Production status: Pre-production
Release date: summer 2008

Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Story by: George Lucas
Screenplay by: Jeff Nathanson & David Koepp
Executive Producer: George Lucas
Produced by: Frank Marshall

Starring:
Harrison Ford .... Indiana Jones

Producer Frank Marshall has disclosed that part of the film will take place in the desert. Exactly which one is anybody’s guess at this point, but Marshall has alluded to the possibility of Australia as a shooting location, where there is no shortage of desert to work with. The desert has already been significantly featured in two of the Indiana Jones films, so it wouldn’t be a stretch for the next one.

An additional location may be Chinatown in San Francisco. It has been said that the Indiana Jones video game, slated for a 2007 release, is related to a version of the latest film’s screenplay, and in a recent trailer for the game, Indiana battles evil henchmen on top of a moving cable car in a city that is clearly San Francisco.

Answer 2

It's not due till 2008, but this is the reliable source that I use.

Answer 3

Release Date: Summer, 2008 (wide)

Release Date Notes: There have been conflicting reports (at least one of them originating from Paramount itself) that this film is aiming for either July 1st, 2005 (a Friday) or July 4th, 2005 (a Monday). The 1st seems more likely, but there have been rare cases in the past when movies were released on the 4th even though it fell on an unusual movie release day (Die Hard 2: Die Harder was the most-profile one; it was released on a Tuesday). Batman: Intimidation is also aiming for that weekend, and it is equally unclear as to whether WB intends to release it on Friday the 1st or Monday the 4th. My hunch is that it is the 1st in both cases; but my more relevant hunch is that ultimately, one of these movies will flinch. I think it's unlikely both movies would open against each other. The competition for the July 1st release date has gotten even more intense, with the news that 20th Century Fox is now hoping to release their own colossal superhero movie, Fantastic Four, on that same weekend. The 4th is a huge weekend, but there isn't room for these three movies. At least one, and probably two, will ultimately flinch. Will Indy stick it out? The 2004 start date was dependant upon the three key players loving the script, and since George Lucas has cast a veto vote against Frank Darabont's try, 2006 now appears the earliest this movie could possibly make it to theaters. The latest rumors suggest this movie could finally be filmed in mid-2007 for a HUGE summer, 2008 release.

Title Note: As with the 2nd and 3rd films (and the first has now been retroactively retitled), this film will be something like Indiana Jones and the... [something]. It's the "something" that isn't currently known.

Distributor: Paramount Pictures

Producer Note: George Lucas has been part of the Indy process for all three of the previous films, and would surely need/want to be part of the 4th film as well. This is noteworthy, as he's already quite busy with another project: Star Wars.

Cast: Harrison Ford (Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones Jr.), Sean Connery (Dr. H. Jones Sr.), Karen Allen (cameo) (Marion Ravenwood), Kate Capshaw (cameo) (Wilhelmina Scott), John Rhys-Davies (Sallah); Other cast are not yet announced.

Cast Notes: Ford mentioned in a recent interview that he hopes Sean Connery will return for the sequel. Cinescape landed the scoop this week that Michelle Yeoh has been in talks for a role. Fox News, talking to Steven Spielberg at the Golden Globes, broke the story that his wife, Kate Capshaw, will be costarring. Talking to IGN FilmForce this week, Spielberg confirmed that Sean Connery will be returning as Jones, Sr. He'll probably be wearing some "old guy" makeup, since by math, his character will probably be considerably older than the 74 is in real life (when this films). Even if he isn't, Connery might want you to think so, anyway. Ford (60) and Connery (72) are only 12 years apart in age. Without "old guy" makeup, they might appear more like brothers in this film than son and father. The same addressed this week an unsourced rumor/report posted at the IMDb's WENN news service that Callista Flockhart, who has been dating Harrison Ford for a while now, may also have a role (per request from Harrison). This is the first I've heard of it; let's see if any other mainstream news source picks this up or, better yet, confirms it. I guess we can get used to hearing what sound like ca-razy casting scoops, because the latest rumor sent to AICN claims famous son Colin Hanks might also have a role. Here's a guess... maybe he plays Henry Jones III, and Callista Flockhart plays his girlfriend (though given the Ford/Flockhart age difference she could just as easily play his sister... :). Just guesses, just guesses, folks. HarrisonFordWeb.com reports that Ford was asked by "Access Hollywood" this week about the Flockhart rumor, and he flatly denied it. Gosh, it sure would help if the IMDB's WENN news service would credit their sources, because it's so difficult to verify stories from them. Ford told "Chicago Sun-Times" columnist Cindy Pearlman that there are definitely no plans for Indy to have a son. He didn't, however, say that Indy doesn't have a daughter (not that he does; I just noticed the gender specificity). This will be the fourth film (obviously :) Harrison Ford has starred in for director Steven Spielberg. The only actor that's appeared in more of Spielberg's movies (other than his own cameos) is stuntman/extra Ted Grossman, who's been in five (he played one of Indy's porters in the opening Peruvian sequence of Raiders of the Lost Ark, for example).

Director: Steven Spielberg (Saving Private Ryan, Jaws, Jurassic Park, Minority Report, Catch Me If You Can, many other popular favorites; next up before this is Terminal)

Director Notes: "Variety" reports that Stephen Spielberg is planning on directing pal Tom Hanks again in a film called "Terminal". Although it would be quite possible for Spielberg to finish that film long before the estimated May, 2004 production start date for this Indiana Jones movie, the article mentions that there is a possibility that Spielberg *could* decide to bump up filming to sometime in 2003 instead. If he does... we will definitely hear more soon, I'd suspect. My hunch, though, is that filming will remain scheduled for May, 2004.

Screenwriter: Currently seeking one.

Screenwriter Notes: Before Frank Darabont signed on, other writers that were approached about the job were M. Night Shyamalan ("The Sixth Sense") and Tom Stoppard ("Empire of the Sun", "Enigma"). He's spent the last 18 months of his life honing this film's script to perfection, but within days of the news that Frank Darabont ('The Green Mile,' 'The Shawshank Redemption'; also wrote several episodes of the "The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones" TV series; next up before this are Collateral and Fahrenheit 451) had turned in his final draft, George Lucas has vetoed it, and so Darabont has been relieved of his screenwriting duties. The triumvirate of Ford, Lucas and Spielberg are now seeking a new screenwriter.

Based Upon: This is, of course, the 4th in the world-famous Indiana Jones series. The third film was 1989's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Indiana Jones, is of course, an archaelogist who has amazing, roller-coaster-ride adventures, usually in the 1930's, but this 4th film, released over 12 years after the last, may be set as far in the future as the 1950's or 1960's when Indy is about the age that Harrison Ford is now. My guess on the setting has been confirmed. Also, the specific "source" for Darabont's script is a story idea by George Lucas, which has been approved by both Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg.

Premise: This isn't known, to the slightest degree. Check out the Reality Check site linked below... there you can read about ELEVEN possiblities that have been either reported or rumored in recent years. Yikes. With Harrison Ford saying he's waiting for a script everyone likes, it's very likely that the script that eventually gets made may not be one of those 11 at all (or maybe it will be... hard to tell). Anyway, 11 different stories is just too much for me to get into, so I refer you to Indyfan.com for now. Not much is known yet about the story that Frank Darabont is working on, except that it is set in the 1950's.

Genre: Action, Eye Candy, Historical, Sequel, Supernatural

Filming: Production had been scheduled to start in the summer of 2004, pending approval of Frank Darabont's script, which didn't happen. Now, there's no word as to when filming might start, but it certainly won't be earlier than 2005. One of the locations may be the Rotorua region of New Zealand. Much of the current reporting being done about this project suggests that it may be on its way to being shelved permanently (or if it does happen, it may take a very different form).

Filming Notes: Michael Fleming of Variety reports that Lucas and crew hope to start filming sometime in 2004... but that's far from confirmed until there's a script everyone likes. Talking to Cinescape, Steven Spielberg said the target is to start filming in April or May of 2004 to make the early July, 2005 release. Filming may now be scheduled to start a little later in 2004 than May. With Steven Spielberg also committed to direct a movie called "Terminal" (preview page coming soon) in the fall of 2003, it's possible the production start date of this film will be changed to accomodate it. Production is still scheduled to start in 2004. The earliest filming could possibly start now is 2005... and even that isn't a certainty. This project is not only unlikely for 2005; it may be scrapped entirely. It now looks like filming might actually start in mid-2007 or so.

Unofficial Actor Fan Site: HarrisonFordWeb.com

Unofficial Series Fan Site: IndyFan.com (This site is pretty comprehensive, frequently updated, and worth watching. Here's also a link directly to their Reality Check section about this project). Another fansite is theraider.net.

Official Site: indianajones.com

Official Site Note: Nothing there yet about this new film, but you can certainly find things about the first three, as well as the Young Indiana Jones series of telefilms now out on video. It's interesting to note that they've numbered the series so Last Crusade is #25, which would make this film #26. There's still nothing there about this movie.