Chris Pratt is riding a wave of momentum following his star-making turn as Star-Lord in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. He is set to headline the much talked about sequel Jurassic World later this summer. He will also join Denzel Washington in Antoine Fuqua’s upcoming The Magnificent Seven remake, which begins filming in April. He is developing an adaptation of Image Comics’ Cowboy Ninja Viking, with the creators of John Wick as the front-runners to direct. Not to mention Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and Avengers: Infinity War, will be taking up a considerable amount of his time in 2016 and 2017 as well. The point is, Pratt will be a very busy man for the foreseeable future. So what move could he possibly get to trump all of that? Indiana Jones.
It has been rumored for weeks that Pratt has been eyed for the role of Dr. Henry Jones for Disney. Harrison Ford made Indiana one of the most famous characters in film history, however he’s a little long in the tooth to be swinging across chasms nowadays. Disney has been quietly getting the pieces in place for a reboot of the franchise since 2013, when they bought the rights to the franchise from Paramount Pictures. Pratt has been the primary target of speculation, along with Bradley Cooper to a lesser degree, since he has an everyman quality, along with the roguish charm that defines Indiana.
When Deadline broke the initial story, what wasn’t known was who was developing the project at this point. It seems that it may be the series’ original director Steven Spielberg. Apparently he was a voice in the decision to cast Pratt in Jurassic World, so it all makes sense. George Lucas and Spielberg created the franchise out of their love of adventure serials from the 1930’s and 40’s. Recasting the lead character in a new adventure is actually a part of the history of the medium. Certainly Spielberg wants a chance to make up for the lastest and weakest installment Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. According to the latest report, he may be getting his chance.
“It’s very early days, but my sources tell me that, assuming a script comes in to his satisfaction, Spielberg hopes to direct that film…Word from Spielberg’s camp is that it’s too early to determine what will happen because there is no script yet and they are just getting going. It makes a lot of sense though.”
It does make sense. Spielberg will probably go down as the greatest directors of all time, due to his enormously diverse filmography. He was once known for delivering blockbuster spectacle, however in recent years his more grounded work has made the larger impact. The allure of restarting the franchise is an understandable draw for the prolific director, so we will see if how things fall into place.
Do you think that it makes sense to use Spielberg to reboot the franchise or should they go with an all-new vision? Let us know on , , , and Reddit! Make sure to share our stories on your favorite social media by clicking below.
Source: Deadline