Well that escalated quickly: Just yesterday an interview made the rounds in which Harrison Ford assured fans that he and director Steven Spielberg were taking the time to get Indiana Jones 5 right and, despite “scheduling issues and a few script things,” the sequel was still very much in development. Now, Variety reports that Spielberg is no longer directing Indiana Jones 5, and James Mangold has entered talks to replace him—making this the first Indy film that won’t be directed by Spielberg, who will remain involved as a producer.
It’s a pretty huge gig for Mangold, who most recently directed Ford V Ferrari, which earned four Oscar nominations (including one for Best Picture), and won Oscars for both sound and film editing. But it also wouldn’t be the director’s first time in the driver’s seat for a major franchise sequel—he previously directed The Wolverine and Logan, which effectively recalibrated Hugh Jackman’s comic book spinoffs and sent the actor and his iconic role out on a critically-acclaimed note. Mangold is a phenomenal director and has proven himself a craftsman even in the realm of big budget spectacle, but fans of the filmmaker might prefer he tackle something—anything—else besides the fifth installment in Indiana Jones. His work on Logan, however, makes him an extremely intriguing choice, and an optimistic one given where we last left the franchise (reminder: it was bad).