Indiana Jones 5 Pushed Back Again, James Mangold Still in Negotiations to Direct

Movie release dates keep getting pushed due to the threat of COVID-19, and Deadline just released a list of some unexpected (and expected) new dates. Unsurprisingly, Indiana Jones 5 is among the films to get a later release date. The upcoming film has already had some setbacks, originally set to be released in July of 2019. After a couple of release date changes, the movie was expected to begin filming soon, but that was before the pandemic changed everything. It was reported back in February that Steven Spielberg will no longer be directing Indiana Jones 5 and that James Mangold was in talks to take over the position. Mangold most recently helmed Ford V Ferrari, which was nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars this year. The director has also tackled Logan, 3:10 to Yuma, Walk the Line, and more. However, according to this new report from Deadline, Mangold is still in negotiations.

"Lucasfilm's Indiana Jones 5, which is still locking down a deal with new director James Mangold, goes from July 9, 2021 to July 29, 2022," Deadline reports.

It's interesting to learn Mangold isn't officially locked down yet, especially since the movie's writer, Jon Kasdan, teased the director's involvement back in February. However, we're willing to bet things are on track, especially since Mangold hasn't taken to social media to debunk any rumors, which he had to do recently after false reports started to circulate that he had directed an episode of Star Wars: The Mandalorian.

While the loss of Spielberg in the director's chair is disappointing, Mangold has proven himself to be a solid director over the years. This may feel like a setback, but as long as fans have Ford, there's still hope for a successful fifth film. Recently, the legendary actor revealed he was relearning how to use the character's iconic bullwhip. Ford also recently shared that he hopes the film has the same success as Marvel:

"I don't really want to give them what they want to see," Ford says. "I want to give them something they didn't anticipate seeing. I think they're used to a degree of disappointment when you revisit -- I mean certainly the Marvel movies have made a spectacular example of success that worked the other way around. They killed it. Well, we're not going to make another Indiana Jones unless we're in a position to kill it. We want it to be the best. So we've got some scheduling issues, a few script things still to do, but we're determined to get it right before we get it made."

Indiana Jones 5 is expected to hit theaters on July 29, 2022.