It was finally beginning to go well again. Indiana Jones 5 was filming at full-speed, Harrison Ford was back after a three-month haitus (one that I had predicted against the media narrative). An effort was underway to save the film’s release date, or at least keep it in the 2022 calendar year. Then, late last week, something changed. It’s very hush-hush, but sources say that a determination was made that the film simply cannot be completed in the traditional way. A ton of CGI is going to be required to get this movie to the box office. Did Harrison Ford suffer another, albeit smaller, injury?
Whatever the case, Indiana Jones 5 was quickly rescheduled, and dumped into an otherwise semi-routine Marvel film release shuffle. Only, Indiana Jones 5 was delayed by an entire year.
Sources say this is the result of a massive amount of CGI that is going to be required to finish this film. A full-year delay with intense CGI requirements will also balloon the budget to gargantuan levels. This is becoming Solo 2, but on a larger scale. And as you may have heard, Bob Chapek is a numbers guy. These numbers are going to be silly big.
Additionally, Harrison Ford is going to be a minimum 81 years old when his action film debuts. Is Harrison Ford going to be up for doing the interview junkets at 81 years old?! This is reaching parody levels.
Importantly, you’ll note there are still no announcements in regard to Kathleen Kennedy’s potential contract extension at Lucasfilm. Yet, that contract extension would have to occur within days. Why is nobody in the press covering that? Disney has yet to make an announcement about her tenure. There may be a reason for that. Kennedy had been attempting to stick around to see Indiana Jones 5 completed, but that is now going to require a two-year (minimum) extension of her contract. Chapek’s already said he doesn’t want to do big extensions, and Kennedy is the least likely studio head to get anything more than a one-year continuance.
At this point, Kennedy may actually leave. This is the first time I’ve made that announcement on That Park Place. And while I think she’s still more likely to get a short extension, this Indiana Jones situation is getting worse and worse. It is again — although unprecedented — a possibility that they’ll have to cancel the movie halfway into production. In the world of blockbusters, this is craziness. So that changes my prior thoughts on Kennedy. This is bad enough that Chapek and company may feel it is time for her to walk away, no matter the fallout.
It’s 50/50 at this point. But something is 100%, and that is Kathleen Kennedy has lost the confidence of the corporation she works for.
Update 2:08 PM:
Also note that Disney PR would know that this announcement would generate negative narratives around Kathleen Kennedy. They could have remedied that by announcing her extension beforehand. They did not. Something is at play…
