Rumor: Indiana Jones 5 Might Recast Indy, Ditch Harrison Ford

[Alex Co]

Rumor: Indiana Jones 5 Might Recast Indy, Ditch Harrison Ford

Harrison Ford's window to portray Indy is said to be closing, and studios are now prepared to recast a younger Dr. Jones with Bradley Cooper at the top of the list.

Actor Harrison Ford's time as Dr. Henry Walton "Indy" Jones might finally be coming to an end -- at least if production on Indiana Jones 5 doesn't start soon enough. According to Latino-Review's "reliable sources," [http://latino-review.com/2014/03/exclusive-indiana-jones-taking-james-bond-path/] while Ford might still be tapped to play Indy in the franchise's next film entry, the window of making that happen is said to be "getting smaller and smaller." The site's sources claim that "there is a date" for Indy 5, and if the film is not "moving forward by then, the studios are 100% prepared to cast a younger Dr. Jones and ready up for a new trilogy." Supposedly, a lot of actors are being considered for the lead role, but Bradly Cooper (Hangover film franchise, A-Team) is "at the top of the list." However, this doesn't mean Cooper is a lock to play Indy as he hasn't landed the role, nor has signed any deal of sorts; he's just the actor the studios are looking at to play the role if and when the franchise moves ahead without Ford.

If the recast happens, it won't be a reboot as most people will assume. Instead, the Indiana Jones film series is said to be following the "James Bond" film franchise route of recasting the titular role every couple of years. As to who might be writing Indy 5, the site claims Frank Darabont (The Walking Dead Season 1, Shawshank Redemption) might be making a run for it. For now, it's said that Darabont has pitched an idea, but it's currently unknown what that idea is or if it has been given the green light.

When the time comes that Harrison has to pass his whip and fedora to someone else, whom do you think would be a good fit? Would you be OK with Bradley Cooper taking over or should it be passed on to Indy's "son," Shia LeBouf? Or should the franchise itself retire with Ford?

Source: Latino-Review [http://latino-review.com/2014/03/exclusive-indiana-jones-taking-james-bond-path/]

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[Anachronism]

should it be passed on to Indy's "son," Shia LeBouf?

No no no no no. He was bloody awful in Indy 4, and the thought of an Adventures of Mutt Williams movie still makes me wake up screaming on occasion. This would be an especially bad idea since his whole "I am not famous any more" mental breakdown, because he's now even more irritating and hard to take seriously than he was before.

Frankly, I'd rather they just let the franchise end, since I'm not sure how they'll ever replace Harrison Ford. That said, I've no doubt people said the same about Sean Connery as Bond, so there's definitely potential down that road. And Disney have proven a very good home for Marvel, so hopefully they can do the same for Star Wars and Indy.

I can see Bradley Cooper working, actually. He has the same sort of likeable scoundrel aspect to him that Ford does so well.

 

[Bradeck]

I say just destroy the franchise by casting Shia as Dr Jones. The at least once the smoke clears, Indy's legacy will be intact for all time. I really don't want to see prissy sexy man boys cast as one of the all time most badassed characters of all time.

List of manly actors worthy to don the fedora:

Harrison Ford
Burt Reynolds
Ron Swanson
Mr. T
Hugh Hefner
Chuck Norris' Beard
The Rock's Left Bicep
Sigourney Weaver

End of List

 

[Alex Co]

should it be passed on to Indy's "son," Shia LeBouf?

No no no no no. He was bloody awful in Indy 4, and the thought of an Adventures of Mutt Williams movie still makes me wake up screaming on occasion. This would be an especially bad idea since his whole "I am not famous any more" mental breakdown, because he's now even more irritating and hard to take seriously than he was before.

Frankly, I'd rather they just let the franchise end, since I'm not sure how they'll ever replace Harrison Ford. That said, I've no doubt people said the same about Sean Connery as Bond, so there's definitely potential down that road. And Disney have proven a very good home for Marvel, so hopefully they can do the same for Star Wars and Indy.

I can see Bradley Cooper working, actually. He has the same sort of likeable scoundrel aspect to him that Ford does so well.

Yeah, I'm honestly OK with Bradley Cooper being the new Indy. He seems like a scoundrel, but a likable one at that. And yes, I didn't like LeBouf or Indy 4, either. xD

 

[Jandau]

Good. Ford is too far along in years to be fit for the role, so it might be for the best to recast it. Also, I doubt ANYONE is dumb enough to give Shia another go. He was almost universally reviled, by audience and critics alike...

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

Given Shia's recent bouts of plagiarism, I think he has become somewhat untouchable. In that his career prospects took a 90 degree downward arc off a cliff.

Given how "well received" Crystal Skull was, kill the franchise. Kill it with fire.

 

[Shocksplicer]

Cooper would be a good choice.
Continuing the franchise in any way would be a bad one.

 

[Metalrocks]

no thanks. just let it rest. we have already 4 movies and the last one was really not the best. even when it had some amusing moments in it.

 

[STENDEC1]

Harrison Ford is definitely too old to play the part now. He was in Indy 4 as well, but people were somewhat willing to overlook that for nostalgia's sake. Of course the rest of that film turned out to be rubbish anyway, so Harrison's age was probably the least problematic issue. Not to mention the fact that in every film now he just seems bored out of his brain. Seriously, I haven't seem him give one decent performance in a film for the past decade or more. As to a new actor playing the part, Bradley Cooper certainly has the look for it. I just find it hard to visualise anyone other than Harrison Ford playing the part.

There's also that part of me that says "Can't you just leave well enough alone?" Do we really need to be constantly reinventing/reviving old franchises from 20+ years ago? Can't we come up with some new ones? Imagine where we'd be now if back in the 70s and 80s they were just remaking/reimaging films from the 40s and 50s, just like what modern filmmakers are doing now.

 

[Not Lord Atkin]

the 4th one had a lot of issues. Harrison ford wasn't one of them.

 

[RJ 17]

I thought I read an article on this site a while back about how Shia - so disgraced by the whole plagiarism thing that he decided to plagiarize his apology about plagiarizing - was "officially retiring from public life" and had no intention of doing any more movies...

Here's hoping.

Personally I think they should just leave the Indy franchise alone. Not every nostalgic movie franchise needs to be brought forth to the new era. But that's not how Hollywood works anymore. Original ideas and concepts are dead, so lets just base everything off of a book/movie/comic book/80's cartoon. Why bother trying to earn your own audience when you can just pilfer existing nostalgic audiences?

Captcha: I Need A Vacation.

Amen to that, brother.

 

[CriticalMiss]

Just let Indy die and be content with silly 'Director's Cut 3D Limited Edition Collectors Director's 3D Edition Edition' re-releases in perpetuity whenever a new format is released or people have gone a year without buying the movies again. Crystal Skull was horrible and I don't have any confidence that they will do any better even if they recast a new lead every time the franchise goes to shit.

Maybe Hollywood could try something...what's that word? New! After all we don't have a Hungry Hungry Hippos movie that has nothing to do with the game yet.

 

[Mahorfeus]

Eh, no. I'm one of the people that actually really liked Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (nothing on this planet can convince me that Temple of Doom was not worse). Yes, including Shia's role - frankly he always seems to get a lot more flak than he actually deserves. People always point to his acting as a weak point, but that is generally the last thing wrong with the movies that he has appeared in.

Divisive as it was, at least it brought some closure to the series. This is not a franchise that needs to come back, especially if Ford's not going to be in it.

 

[Trivun]

The only way this would be a good decision is if Bradley Cooper, or someone of a similar age and acting ability (that is to say, stellar), was cast as the lead in a reboot or in a prequel. Doing it James Bond style just wouldn't work, and would be a really bad idea. Otherwise, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this. Never saw the films all the way through, and never saw Crystal Skull at all, so I'm not exactly qualified to make assumptions any further than my opening sentence...

 

[marioandsonic]

Eh, no. I'm one of the people that actually really liked Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (nothing on this planet can convince me that Temple of Doom was not worse). Yes, including Shia's role - frankly he always seems to get a lot more flak than he actually deserves. People always point to his acting as a weak point, but that is generally the last thing wrong with the movies that he has appeared in.

Divisive as it was, at least it brought some closure to the series. This is not a franchise that needs to come back, especially if Ford's not going to be in it.

I pretty much agree with you with everything you said...except Shia. I'm sorry, but I just can't stand him is 90% of the movies he's in, and Crystal Skull was no exception.

 

[Flatfrog]

There's also that part of me that says "Can't you just leave well enough alone?" Do we really need to be constantly reinventing/reviving old franchises from 20+ years ago? Can't we come up with some new ones? Imagine where we'd be now if back in the 70s and 80s they were just remaking/reimaging films from the 40s and 50s, just like what modern filmmakers are doing now.

Well, to a large extent that was what they were doing. Indiana Jones was a direct homage to action adventure serials of that era, while Star Wars was a rip-off of Flash Gordon.

 

[suitepee7]

Cooper would be a good choice.
Continuing the franchise in any way would be a bad one.

yup, pretty much sums it up. i would rather they just leave it alone, but if they have to carry it on then bradley cooper seems like he could be a good choice.

tbh i'm more interested in whether they take the 'james bond' approach of the films being more like 'episodes' rather than sequels or if they reboot it as a new trilogy. personally, i already see them as more episodic rather than continuous (very little carries over in each film, besides his teaching role i guess), so i think it definitely has the potential to be as such.

Eh, no. I'm one of the people that actually really liked Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (nothing on this planet can convince me that Temple of Doom was not worse). Yes, including Shia's role - frankly he always seems to get a lot more flak than he actually deserves. People always point to his acting as a weak point, but that is generally the last thing wrong with the movies that he has appeared in.

isn't that slightly contradictory? you liked KotCS, but Shia's acting is usually the last thing wrong?

i might just be reading it wrong, but it doesn't seem to make any sense. personally i didn't mind KotCS, but didn't particularly care much for Shia being in it. i don't hate him generally, just thought his performance there was pretty weak

 

[Elijah Newton]

no thanks. just let it rest. we have already 4 movies and the last one was really not the best.

Three movies. Only three. Just like the Star Wars movies.

We can let it go at that. We don't have to cling to the franchises. Just? let it go.

There don't have to be Russians, or Jar-Jar, or Mutts, or midi-clorians or ludicrous sequences involving refrigerators. All we have to do is let it go.

And deny, deny deny.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

He is to old but mostly he seems to have lost interest in acting. Hopefully a number 5 will be good and go back to the roots and remain down to earth. No aliens or stupid cgi fights.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

You know, I really don't want this film to be made, but getting Bradley Cooper to play Indy is the best thing that could happen. That still wouldn't be good though, just let the damn thing die.