‘Indiana Jones 5’ screenwriter says George Lucas not involved in the project

The success of the “Indiana Jones” film franchise was built on three unchanging, reliable elements: actor Harrison Ford as the eponymous hero, Steven Spielberg as director, and George Lucas as story writer and executive producer.

It seems, however, that Lucas won’t be back for “Indiana Jones 5.” The revelation was made by David Koepp, who will be performing the screenwriting duties on “Indiana Jones 5.”

When Collider asked him if Lucas will be involved in the film, Koepp had the following to say: “He’s not, to my knowledge. I’ve had no contact with him.”

Lucas was also not involved in the recent expansion of the "Star Wars" universe, which he built from the ground up. Both "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" are part of Lucasfilms, which the filmmaker sold to Disney in 2012. 

As screenwriter, Koepp previously worked with Spielberg “Jurassic Park” (1993), “War of the Worlds” (2005), and the critical flop “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (2008).

When asked what he learned from his time on “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” Koepp said, “I think that what (Indy) looks for and when he looks for it dictates what the movie’s gonna be. So the selection of the MacGuffin is everything.”

In literary parlance, the MacGuffin is "an object or device in a movie or a book that serves merely as a trigger for the plot."

Koepp continued, “I think Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, being set in 1957 there was a conscious desire to say, ‘Much like two of the other ones were World War II movies set in the 30s and early 40s, this is ’57 so a lot of our influences are gonna be science-fiction movies.’ ”

“We tried to be very careful with the selection of the MacGuffin and the eras to give ourselves as much latitude to make the best kind of Indiana Jones movie that we most want to see. Learning how that’s the importance of the choice of the MacGuffin is a big deal,” he added. 

When asked about the current state of “Indiana Jones 5,” Koepp gave a tongue-in-cheek reply. 

“I’m deeply immersed as we speak. All I can say is that there’s lots of aliens and Indy dies at the end (laughs). Lots of hiding in lead-lined refrigerators, aliens, and he dies. Should go over very well.”

Despite Lucas’ absence, Koepp assured the movie would proceed as planned. They already have an idea for the main premise, which was hatched by Spielberg and Koepp himself.

“I really like our idea; I think it’s clean and simple and makes a lot of sense, and I feel like the writing is going really well.”

Koepp hopes for the filming to start in October 2017.

“Indiana Jones 5” will be produced by series veterans Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy. John Williams will return to provide the score. It is expected to be released on July 19, 2019. — AT, GMA News