With Indiana Jones 5, Disney is Ruining Another of Its Popular Franchises
Steven Spielberg once said that his action-adventure hero, Indiana Jones, was one of only two characters he ever created that could be recognised simply from the silhouette alone.
A character that has become so well-known, it's not uncommon to see costumes of the fictional archaeologist with his iconic hat and whip at parties, conventions or Halloween.
And yet, with such a popular movie franchise as Indiana Jones, you would think that the studio responsible for continuing its legacy would take the utmost care and caution.
Unfortunately, based on recent reports, things seem far from promising for Indie's latest adventure to come to our screens.
Filming began for the fifth Indiana Jones film in the series (yet to be titled) in June 2021; and is now labelled as post-production. However, based on some inside accounts, Disney is suspected of struggling to produce a version of the film which audiences are favorable towards.
Considering the implications of if the movie of such a popular series was to flop, Disney would likely make a loss of an estimated $200+ million budget, and lose the reputation of one of its most loved film franchises.
After such uninspired receptions to other big-budget franchises over the last several years (i.e. Star Wars), fans are not happy over the potential for one of their most admired heroes to be let down in Harrison Ford's last outing as the daring scholar/tomb raider.
Fans have already expressed their concerns for the next installment within the series. Stating they would rather not see the movie released at all than have it ruined in the final film of the franchise.
If rumors of Disney testing their latest film with audiences is to be believed, they are already attempting to take fans' opinions into consideration.
Although pleasing all of the movie's audience may be harder said than done. Especially if such fans hold the Indy films to an unreachable standard.
You can't help but relate Disney to Indy's search for the grail. Trying desperately to choose between many options, one that may lead to renewed life for the character, another which will almost certainly end the franchise for good.
Others have already criticised the movie before its release, not because of their poor expectations of Disney's track record with recent feature films, but because of a separate theory predicting Ford's successor as Indiana Jones within the series.
According to some speculation, one of the announced stars of the latest film will include Fleabag star Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Although little is known about her role, fans have summarised that her character in the film may be taking over the lead role for the franchise at the end of the movie.
Although few seem at peace with the decision to extend the franchise in a new direction, others have criticised the decision as a poor one. Branding the studio as 'too woke' or pandering to audiences by replacing a character with a female lead.
Not all fans are as bothered by Ford's exit from the franchise as by the possibility of Indy's death at the end of the movie. Ford has previously had a reputation for wanting a more dramatic ending for his characters in his past films. The most famous was his request to producer George Lucas to kill his character Han Solo in Star Wars. A wish he was finally granted when he returned to the Disney-produced sequel The Force Awakens.
The death of another one of Hollywood's most iconic heroes would certainly change the tone of what an Indiana Jones movie usually represents. And fans are begging Disney to keep the film a positive one, with one commenter asking "by all means retire Indy, but please don't kill him".
It is clear Disney is walking a very fine line with the production of this latest Indy escapade. On one hand, most of the film and a lot of money have already gone into making the story of Ford's last adventure as Dr. Jones.
However, fans have clearly listed their concerns about what another Indy film with Disney at the helm could look like. They would rather see no film at all than ruin the memory of one of cinema's most classic characters. As Indiana would likely admit himself, some things are better left buried.