A director shake-up. Why did it have to be a director shake-up?
Steven Spielberg has shockingly dropped out of directing Indiana Jones 5, with Logan's James Mangold in talks to replace him, Variety reports.
This news came as a major surprise on Wednesday considering Spielberg has directed every film in the Indiana Jones series from Raiders of the Lost Ark through Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, even as he's departed other franchises of his like Jaws and Jurassic Park. It was previously announced that he'd return as director.
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Spielberg will reportedly remain attached to Indiana Jones 5 as producer, but Variety reports that when it comes to directing, he wanted "to pass along Indy's whip to a new generation to bring their perspective to the story."
Harrison Ford is reportedly still returning, having recently been discussing the film during the press tour for The Call of the Wild, although he recently revealed it had run into some "scheduling issues." Ford promised, though, that "we are determined to get it right before we get it made." The "we" just won't include Spielberg as director, it turns out.
As of now, the Spielberg-less Indiana Jones 5 is scheduled to hit theaters in July 2021, although it was previously set to release in 2020, and, before that, in 2019.
