Indiana Jones 5 Is Almost Done Filming, Confirms Producer

Indiana Jones 5 is close to wrapping filming, according to its producer Frank Marshall. Long-awaited and heavily delayed, the fifth instalment in the legendary adventure series is set to release next year, 15 years after the previous film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Harrison Ford will return in Indiana Jones 5 to pick up the whip along with a cast of series newcomers, including Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Kretschmann and Toby Jones.

Rumours of Indiana Jones 5 have circulated since the release of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in 2008, with Ford himself stating at the time that he would be willing to return to the project if the development process wasn’t too long. This was a somewhat prophetic statement to make, as the film would not officially enter the pre-production process until 2016, after Disney purchased the rights to the Indiana Jones property as part of the 2012 Lucasfilm takeover. What followed then was a four-year period of rotating screenwriters and uncertainty over whether Ford would indeed return for a new Indiana Jones movie. Finally, in 2020, James Mangold took over directing duties from Steven Spielberg and wrote a new screenplay with brothers Jez and John-Heny Butterowrth. Mangold ruled out the possibility of recasting the titular character, and so Ford returned to the franchise alongside the new cast. Principal photography on Indiana Jones 5 then began in 2021, and the film was scheduled for release in July 2022 before being further delayed by a year.

Now, Marshall has revealed on Twitter that Indiana Jones 5 is finally nearing the end of its shoot. The veteran producer shared a photograph taken on the Pinewood Studios lot. Not revealing very much more in regards to a potential release date, Marshall simply captioned his post “Home stretch…” Check it out below:

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This new update comes over a month after Mangold shared on Twitter that there was “about a month remaining,” of production on Indiana Jones 5, indicating that the shoot is taking longer to finish than anticipated. For fans of the franchise, this could be a good sign. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull proved a disappointment to many, and some argued that the film fell short of expectations after a 19-year wait following The Last Crusade in 1989. The film even spawned the phrase “nuking the fridge,” a spin on the idiom “jump the shark,” which describes an action so ridiculous that it ruins the audience’s suspension of disbelief. The term was coined based a scene in Crystal Skull in which Jones hides from a nuclear explosion in a fridge. A prolonged shoot could therefore be a sign that Mangold, Marshall and the rest of the creative team behind Indiana Jones 5 are working hard to meet expectations this time around.

As for plot details, there is little known right now about the sequel film’s story. Mangold has hinted that the film could be set in the 1960s around the time of the Apollo Moon Landings and may take place in New York. Behind-the-scenes Indiana Jones 5 set photos from October last year also appeared to back up rumors of a time travel-based plot, showing images of Roman soldiers. However, other sneak peeks have been less revealing, giving only a brief glimpse at Mikkelsen and Waller-Bridge’s characters without revealing any details. Now, with production on the “home stretch,” only time will tell whether Indiana Jones 5 can live up to the hype of an iconic legacy and a 15-year break.

Source: Frank Marshall