A couple of days ago, Latino Review dropped a torch into the writhing snake-filled Well of Souls that is the Internet with the report that Disney was considering launching the next phase of the Indiana Jones franchise by bringing in a younger actor—one who may or may not be Bradley Cooper. The prospect of someday extending Indiana Jones beyond the aging Harrison Ford’s enthusiasm for the role makes sense logically—it already yielded Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, for example—and it’s fairly obvious Disney didn’t spend $4 billion on the rights just to stash it inside some nondescript warehouse once Ford was done. But in the meantime (and while Disney still has a tenuous relationship to establish with Ford on Star Wars), both franchise producer Frank Marshall and screenwriter Frank Darabont have stepped forward to squelch that report, before it, say, spreads across social media and everyone freaks out.
First, Marshall—who’s served on all four Indiana Jones films—took to Twitter to denounce what he called “ridiculous rumors.” Nevertheless, Latino Review’s El Mayimbe has already rebutted that Marshall “technically didn’t deny it either.” It’s a fun treasure hunt for semantics, one that sounds like just the sort of relaxing adventure the elderly Indiana Jones could go for these days.
Then it was Frank Darabont’s turn, as the screenwriter contacted Ain’t It Cool News to refute Latino Review’s report that he’d pitched an idea for a fifth Indiana Jones film. “This is an Internet rumor with not a shred of truth in it,” Darabont emailed to the site’s Harry Knowles. “I have not pitched an idea for a proposed Indiana Jones movie, nor has anybody approached me with such an idea. The inaccurate report on Latino Review was the first I'd heard of it.” Unlike Marshall’s response, there’s seemingly little room to argue for technicalities here—though we suppose one could argue that we don’t know for certain whether Darabont really wrote it, seeing as this supposed “Frank Darabont” said nothing about Pilates instructors.
Anyway, it is still inevitable that Disney will make inroads toward extending Indiana Jones—possibly with a new actor taking over the role, possibly with a movie that spans generations, by having Ford and a new actor portraying the adventure at different ages, or possibly with a static shot of Harrison Ford glaring at audiences until they slink home, sorry for bothering him. But in the meantime, these Frankies say relax, don’t do it, when you want to come to your own conclusions. SHOOT IT IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, MAKE MAKING IT YOUR INTENTION, OOH YEAH.