Disney and Lucasfilm have plans to bring Indiana Jones back for a fifth movie, but those plans don’t include Indy’s son, Mutt Williams (a.k.a. Henry Jones III), who was played by Shia LeBeouf in 2008’s Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
Videos by ComicBook.com
The fifth, and still untitled, Indiana Jones movie does have a script. Ford will be back as Jones, but LeBeouf’s Mutt is absent from the story.
“Harrison plays Indiana Jones, that I can certainly say,” screenwriter David Koepp, who wrote the script, tells Entertainment Weekly. “And the Shia LaBeouf character is not in the film.”
In addition to confirming that LeBeouf will not return for the fifth film in the series, Koepp has also dispelled rumors that Ford will be replaced by a younger actor, either playing the Indiana Jones role in a prequel story or playing a different character who is taking over where the older adventurer left off.
Some believed that Mutt Williams was introduced in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull to replace his father in just such a fashion. This natural succession was foreshadowed in the ending to Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, where a breeze catches Indy’s iconic wide-brimmed fedora hat and carries it to Mutt’s feet. However, before Mutt can place the hat on his own head, Indiana Jones swoops in and grabs the hat back, returning it to his own head.
Koepp also noted that Steven Spielberg, the director of all the Indiana Jones movies, is mostly pleased with the current script for Indy’s next adventures.
“We’re plugging away at it. In terms of when we would start, I think that’s up to Mr. Spielberg and Mr. Ford,” he said. Koepp goes on to tease that the movie will involve “some precious artifact that they’re all looking for.”
“I know we’ve got a script we’re mostly happy with,” he continues. “Work will be endless, of course, and ongoing, and Steven just finished shooting The Post …. If the stars align, hopefully it’ll be his next film.”
The fifth Indiana Jones movie is currently scheduled for a July 2020 release.
