Collider have broke the news tonight that Solo: A Star Wars Story co-writer Jon Kasdan will be replacing David Koepp on 2020’s Indiana Jones 5, currently set for a July 2020 release.
As Lucasfilm recalibrates the future of its Star Wars franchise, the company is pressing forward with its other marquee property, as Jonathan Kasdan (Solo: A Star Wars Story) has signed on to replace David Koepp as the writer of Indiana Jones 5, multiple sources tell Collider.
Representatives for Kasdan and Disney/Lucasfilm had no comment. Producer Frank Marshall did not respond to a request for comment, nor did Koepp or his representatives.
We don’t know the nature of Kasdan’s gig, so there are a few things we want to get straight. We aren’t sure if he’s rewriting Koepp’s existing script, or merely doing a two-week polish, or if he’s starting completely from scratch. We also don’t know if Kasdan is writing the script with a partner — perhaps his father, Lawrence Kasdan, with whom he wrote Solo, and who counts Raiders of the Lost Ark among his many credits. We also don’t know when Koepp left the project or when Kasdan was hired, be it before or after Soloopened below expectations, so it’s possible that he has been working on Indy 5 for some time now.
Further to that, Deadline believe that the production is now being moved back months, if not longer.
The fifth Indiana Jones directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Harrison Ford has been pushed back by months, perhaps even a year. Spielberg is in pre-production on a West Side Story remake and is also looking to direct Mark Rylance in the historical drama The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara. Also, Indiana Jones 5 screenwriter Jonathan Kasdan has yet to sign his deal, but reportedly will do so to give the pic a polish after David Koepp’s first draft. Indiana Jones will now miss its July 10, 2020 release date.
After the snappy patter of Solo: A Star Wars Story let’s hope Jon and – if a writing partner is part of the deal a returning Lawrence Kasdan can give Indy the send off he deserves with Spielberg and Ford involved before the franchise evolves with a new owner of the whip, hopefully stepping back to the 20’s and 30’s for some classic era adventures.
