In a surprise to probably no one,Indiana Jones 5will not beIndiana Jones and the Adventures of Indy and Mutt. Indeed,Steven SpielbergandHarrison Ford’s return to the franchise withIndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal SkullintroducedShia LaBeouf’s Mutt as Indy’s long-lost son, conceived withKaren Allen’s Marion Ravenwood, and the film’s ending even had a nod towards Mutt picking up the whip and hat if/when Indy decides to retire. But in speaking withEW, writerDavid Koepp—who’s penning the screenplay forIndiana Jones 5—confirms that LaBeouf’s character is not involved in the sequel.
Again, this isn’t terribly surprising. Not only wasCrystal Skulldivisive to the point that Spielberg and Co. likely don’t want to include any specific threads inIndy 5calling audiences’ attention toCrystal Skull, but LaBeouf famously got pretty publicly candid with his thoughts on the film, which Spielberg was none too pleased to hear. At one point in time Spielberg somewhat mentored LaBeouf as a young talent, backing him as the star ofDisturbiaandTransformers, but the two seemed to have had a falling out afterCrystal Skull.
No matter,Indiana Jones 5is moving right along, and LaBeouf isn’t the onlyIndyveteran not involved in the sequel.Koepp previously revealed to us thatGeorge Lucas, who famously dictated the story ideas for all four otherIndiana Jonesmovies, isn’t involved inIndiana Jones 5, making it the first sequel where Lucas didn’t originate the story.
As for whenIndiana Jones 5gets off the ground, the film has a June 14, 2025 release date set, and Koepp hopes it will be Spielberg’s next film after he releases his dramaThe Postthis December:
“We’re plugging away at it. In terms of when we would start, I think that’s up to Mr. Spielberg and Mr. Ford,” he continues, playfully teasing that the plot will involve “some precious artifact that they’re all looking for” throughout the film. “I know we’ve got a script we’re mostly happy with. Work will be endless, of course, and ongoing, and Steven just finished shootingThe Post…. If the stars align, hopefully it’ll be his next film.”
Spielberg has another film on his docket, the religious historical dramaThe Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara, which was supposed to start filming this year beforeIndy, butThe Posthappened very quickly and took that movie’s place. He’s also finishing up post-production onReady Player One, so it does sound likeEdgardo Mortaramay be pushed once again in favor ofIndy 5hitting its release date. If that’s the case, the sequel would probably start shooting sometime next year. Or, since Spielberg works so quickly, it’s also possibleEdgardo Mortarastill happens first and the filmmaker doesMortaraandIndy 5back-to-back. It wouldn’t be the first time—he shotJurassic ParkandSchindler’s Listback to back and released them in the same year. The guy’s practically a magician.
Whatever the case,Indiana Jones 5is still a few years away but take heartCrystal Skullhaters, Mutt has no place in this sequel.
