5 Indiana Jones movies that never escaped development hell
Haunted castles? Monkey kings? Alien invaders? We went in search of details on the Indy films that failed to reach the big screen
Film Features Indiana Jones
We all know that the arrival of Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny marks Harrison Ford’s fifth and final entry in the enduring franchise, but how many of us know about previous attempts to create other Indy films? In the 42 years since Indiana Jones And The Raiders Of The Lost Ark stormed the box office, multiple Indy projects have been developed under George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, but most of them were consigned to development hell.
We decided to grab our fedoras and leather jackets to do some excavating of our own. Turns out that some of these unfinished films about everyone’s favorite Nazi-punching archeologist are just as interesting and ambitious as those that reached theaters—and one of them, arguably, is even better. And in several cases, ideas from these lost projects ended up on screen in other films. Here are the results of our efforts to unearth the mysteries behind Indiana Jones.
30 Comments
You forgot Indiana Jones and the Kinja Slideshow of Annoyance
The Fate of Atlantis would have made a fun movie.
this!i never understood why they never attempted to develop this into a movie. it’s one of the best indy stories out there.
But it made a great game, for which I am thankful.
I was just saying this to a friend! Hell, even The Infernal Machine game had a more compelling use of the Russians than Crystal Skull (including addressing the funny contradiction of an officially-atheist political party funding the search for a [in this case, Babylonian] God.
I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s list of the of 20 best lists on AV this month.
To be re-released monthly with only minor changes and all the old comments still attached.
Nothing worse than giving a really thoughtful, well-written response to someone, only to then realize that their post was from 2019.
+1 friend…wait…deja vu
this movie would firmly establish that ghosts were real in the world of Indiana Jones… the fuck were those things that came out of the Ark in Raiders? Babadooks?
Well they must have been, seeing as they left no crumbs.
The wrath of God isn’t a ghost. (Well, there’s the Holy Ghost, I suppose, but that’s part of the Christian Trinity and the Ark is Jewish).
I just don’t get the tiptoeing around shit like Mola Ram pulling a beating heart out of a chest and the Holy Grail healing mortal wounds. Shouldn’t ghosts have been a given by that point?
I always thought those were really grim angels. The kind that get sent out when it’s time for a 10th Plague.
These all sound better than Crystal Skull. Even the one that Crystal Skull stole ideas from.
I always thought Indy should fight the Devil at some point. Indiana Jones & The Gates of Hades
While I think that would be taking it a tad too far, it certainly would have fit better than aliens, and I say that as someone who actually likes Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
Only if it turned out the devil was just a sexy con woman, like in TNG.
Or if the devil was actually an alien. TOS did an episode where the Greek gods were really aliens.
Only if he uses a fiddle.Or, since this is Harrison Ford we’re talking about:
It’s a pretty absurd stretch to say, “Last Crusade has a scene set in a castle which is a secret Nazi headquarters where the quest for the Grail is being run from harkens back to an abandoned haunted house concept which was also set in a castle!”
I’ve read the unused Indy scripts. Saucermen is atrocious, Monkey King is only slightly better.And, of course, City of the Gods is pretty damn terrific and about 100x better than Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, even though the loose framework of the story is the same.
Moreso than the Star Wars prequels, Lucas’ decision to scrap that script only to make something much, much worse is easily the man’s biggest sin of the last quarter century.
I’m partial to Indiana Jones and the Inescapable Slide Shows.Seriously, why does every AV Club article have to have one?
If they eventually reboot Indiana, I hope they embrace the supernatural aspects.
Nah, the series is all the better for having (relatively) limited supernatural happenings in it. Usually just once a film, at the end. Indy shouldn’t live in a Hellboy universe, crammed to the brim with mythology and monsters and magic.
So, what the fuck was M. Night Shyamalan’s idea?
Indie is actually a schizophrenic in mental ward. Shia Leboeuf is an orderly, Karen Allen is a nurse, and John Rhys-Davies is his doctor, and his adventures are all in his head.
길동노래방❤️길동노래주점 ❤️ garakdong.site ❤️ 가락동노래방 ❤️ 가락동노래주점 Think of three words that summarise your impressions of the art you have seen. This should be a considered response, acknowledging the information you gathered and feeling you experienced during your visit.
Anthony Ingruber should take over for Harrison Ford. He already played young Harrison Ford in a movie and now he’s 33 and more rugged looking. He’s now the perfect age to play Indiana Jones. I wish he had been in Solo. I don’t care if anyone says it’s an impression. That’s the idea. We want as close as possible to Harrison Ford.