Indiana Jones 4: Lucas predicts 2008 release
Preview by Jack Foley
DIRECTOR George Lucas has revealed plans to release the fourth film in the Indiana Jones series in 2008, promising it will be “the best one yet”.
The Star Wars director revealed that filming on the much talked about instalment will begin next year, with a provisional release date scheduled for May 2008.
Harrison Ford will return as the eponymous hero now that the script is ready, after spending more than 10 years in development.
Speaking to the Associated Press, Lucas added that the film was “going to be fantastic”.
The original Indiana Jones trilogy began with Raiders Of The Lost Ark in 1981 and concluded with Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade in 1989. It was devised as a tribute to Saturday morning B-movies and grossed more than $1.1bn (£560m) at the box office in the 1980s.
Raiders Of The Lost Ark introduced audiences to archaeologist Jones as raced around the world to find the Ark of the covenant before it fell into the hands of the Nazis.
Its sequel, Indiana Jones & The Temple of Doom was a much darker affair, while The Last Crusade found Ford uniting with Sean Connery as his father in 1989.
Talk of a fourth chapter in the saga has persisted for several years, as several big names have been attached to writing duties (including M Night Shyamalan). But each of the key participants agreed they would only do it if the script was good enough.
Lucas confirmed that this had been achieved but wouldn’t reveal any plot details, referring only to it as “a character piece” that involved some “very interesting mysteries”.
Ford has already been talking up the potential for a fourth film at the Rome Film Festival in October. The 64-year-old star promised he would “bring the same physical action” to a fourth movie as he did to the first three.
He also hinted that Sean Connery may return as his father, Dr Henry Jones Sr.
However, Connery has since revealed that no offer had yet been made – although that may change with the announcement of a confirmed script and release date.