The return of Indiana Jones to the big screen has been delayed a year.
While announcing their updated release schedule for the next several years, Walt Disney Pictures noted that Indiana Jones 5 has been moved from its originally announced 2020 release date to July 9, 2021.
The push back of the date is not entirely unexpected. Recent news reports had Solo: A Star Wars Story co-writer Jonathan Kasdan working on a new draft of the project’s screenplay, taking over scripting details from David Koepp. Kasdan’s father, and writing partner on Solo, is Lawrence Kasdan, who wrote the initial Indiana Jones film 1981’s Raiders Of The Lost Ark. Koepp dropped out to reportedly concentrate on You Should Have Left, which he is writing and directing for Blumhouse.
Steven Spielberg is set to direct Indiana Jones 5 which will see Harrison Ford returning once again to his iconic role of the adventuring archaeologist.
With the release of their new schedule, Disney is also announcing that Jungle Cruise with Dwayne Johnson and based on their popular theme park attraction, will be premiering in October 2019. The currently in production sequel to the live action Maleficent is penciled in for a May 2020 release.
Disney also removed a placeholder for an unannounced live action film to be released in November 2019 and turned another placeholder in February 2021 over to their subsidiary Marvel Studios. It is possible that Marvel could place the anticipated Black Panther sequel here, as the original film earned just short of $700 million domestically in the same frame this year.
The studio also moved its Mary Poppins Returns from its Christmas Day 2018 release forward to December 19. That gives the film just a two day head start on a very crowded pre-Christmas weekend which also sees Warner Brothers’ Aquaman, Paramount’s Transformers spinoff Bumblebee and Fox’s Alita: Battle Angel all vying for screens and moviegoers’ money.
