‘Solo’ writer Jonathan Kasdan replaces David Koepp to pen ‘Indiana Jones 5’
Despite the lackluster performance at the box office, Solo‘s writer, Jonathan Kasdan, just landed another big job: writing the next chapter for Indiana Jones.
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 as Collider broke the news.
Steven Spielberg will be back to direct the film with iconic hero, Harrison Ford as Indy. Nearly certain to be Ford’s final adventure as the daring archaeologist and treasure hunter, Indiana Jones 5 is expected to set up a young actor or actress to replace Ford in the franchise.
Koepp was hired to write the Indy 5 script in 2016, having written the previous installment in the series, 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. He has been one of Spielberg’s go-to scribes for years, writing such films as Jurassic Park, The Lost World and War of the Worlds, not to mention blockbusters like Spider-Man and Mission: Impossible. He’s had a lot of big disappointments too: The Mummy with Tom Cruise, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and, of course, the aforementioned Crystal Skull.
In addition to Solo, which he co-wrote with his father Lawrence Kasdan, Jon wrote and directed The First Time starring Britt Robertson and Dylan O’Brien, and In the Land of Women starring Meg Ryan, Adam Brody and Kristen Stewart.
This past March, Spielberg announced plans to start production on Indy 5 in the U.K. in April 2019, with a target release date of July 10, 2020. NOTE: New reports state the film will be slid back to 2021, but there is NO official word on that.
The previous four films in the Indiana Jones series have collectively grossed nearly $2 billion worldwide. Stay tuned for details.
