Ford, Spielberg and Lucas may be the triumvirate that people think of when they think of the “Indiana Jones” franchise, but just as key a player has been producer Frank Marshall.
He’s a go to regular executive producer for Spielberg, Zemeckis & Joe Dante, he’s worked with Shyamalan, Scorsese and Miyazaski amongst others, and he’s also helped creatively steer numerous films and franchises including the “Jurassic Park,” “Back to the Future” and “The Bourne Identity” series.
So if anyone would know what’s going on with a planned fifth “Indiana Jones” film, it’s him and recently he spoke with Collider about his upcoming documentary “Laurel Canyon” where he offered an update on Dr. Jones’ next adventure which was recently pushed back to a July 2022 release.
First up, he confirms that “Logan” and “Ford vs. Ferrari”director James Mangold will direct the film while Steven Spielberg will remain attached as a producer. Asked what makes Mangold the right fit, he says:
“His love of the franchise. He’s a wonderful filmmaker. I think he also has a relationship with Harrison. It was all of the right pieces coming together, at the right time. Steven is staying on as a producer, so we’ve got the best of everything.”
Mangold produced this year’s Ford-led “The Call of the Wild”. A new shooting date has not been decided yet for Indy 5 as they only just began working on the latest version of the script. Marshall also explained how the COVID-19 virus pandemic has affected the script:
“The number one thing, obviously, is the safety of everybody – the cast, the crew, and all of us. So, we’re looking at the guidelines that are coming, slowly, from the health experts and the studios and the different parts of the business, and we’re just trying to incorporate everything, so we can move forward and be safe.
It’s going to obviously slow things down, so we’re trying to adjust. You won’t see a lot of big crowd scenes, for example, for a while. There won’t be any more craft service. It’s a moving target right now. There are a lot of people working on the solutions to be able to work and be safe.”
Marshall also offered an update on another film in the Jason Bourne franchise, saying he’s keen to get different creative teams onboard and resurrect it: “I do like the Bourne series, and I do think that’s an opportunity for different filmmakers to come in now. So, I’m hoping that we can find a new story for Bourne and a new filmmaker. We are looking.”
The franchise sadly hasn’t had much success outside the original trilogy as the two subsequent films and the recent “Treadstone” spin-off all landed with a critical thud.
