As Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg reunite for Indiana Jones 5, there’s a bit of concern regarding what will happen to Indy. Before it was officially announced that Ford would be returning, there was some speculation on whether there would be a totally new Indy or if Ford would play a mentor figure to a younger character who would then inherit the role. As Ford recently returned to Star Wars to die, the idea that he might not live through the return of another franchise is very real.
Spielberg, however, relieved those fears in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. While the director doesn’t say much about what direction they’ll be taking with the storyline, he did promise Ford’s survival:
I think this one is straight down the pike for the fans. The one thing I will tell you is I’m not killing off Harrison at the end of it.
When J.J. Abrams talked about the decision to kill Han Solo in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, he called it a “massive tradeoff.” Screenwriter Michael Arndt said, “If we’re not going to have something important and irreversible happen to him, then he kind of feels like luggage…he’s not really evolving. He’s not really pushing the story forward.” While very sad, I think it paid off and I appreciated that they were willing to set the stakes high. Obviously, killing Harrison Ford is not the only way to take risks, so it’ll be interesting to see if “down the pike for the fans” means the film will shift towards nostalgia or something newer.
If you check out the full article on The Hollywood Reporter you can also read Spielberg’s account of convincing Abrams to direct Star Wars, his most recent movie The BFG, and lots more (don’t miss this Josh Trank burn).
(via /Film)
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