Why making Indiana Jones 5 actually isn't a bad idea

The only thing it really takes for a good Indiana Jones movie is faith, trust, and just a little bit of pixie dust

There’s nothing to be blamed in the instinctual negative response to news of Indiana Jones 5; a flinch, a shudder, and a vision of a giant sack of money landing on Harrison Ford’s doorstep.

Dragging the actor back into the whip-cracking ring when he’s only just brought closure to his legacy as Han Solo, passing the torch on to whatever young buck’s eager enough to take command of the Millennium Falcon, seems a little cruel for the 73-year-old actor.

With Ford also prepping a return to Blade Runner, what exactly is the point in him diligently revisiting each of his most iconic roles at this point in his career? His secured position as bonafide legend could surely see him launch any original project he could ever desire; with the exact same being said for Steve Spielberg, who proved he’s still absolutely in his prime with last year’s Oscar-nominated Bridge of Spies.

I’ll admit, each of these dooming thoughts passed through my mind when the news Indy would be returning to screens first dropped. It’s come to form some automatic kneejerk response to any remake, yet we’ve just witnessed the glorious revival of one cinema’s most ravenously beloved franchises. Star Wars: The Force Awakens was, in short, a sublime hit that played beautifully into the hands of so many of even the most diehard fans.

And if I had to reduce The Force Awakens’ success to one notion, it would be history. Disney is a company built on the stuff. The voice of its iconic founder still echoes faintly along its hallowed corridors, and Walt Disney’s office has been dutifully preserved as a saintly memorial to his contributions.

There’s simply no other studio in Hollywood that so consciously plays into its own legacy, building brick-by-brick its own unconquerable fortress of iconicism. Even when the gutting of its 2D animation department seemed to spell the end of an era, you can look past Frozen’s CGI marvels and still see the same royal orphans finding their happily ever after, the same traditions and dreamer ideals that have been at play since 1937.

And, yes, The Force Awakens did come under fire for its rather nostalgic perspective, with detractors accusing the film’s familiarity a symptom of creative lethargy. But, conversely, I’d argue it’s by paying attention to its history and to its traditions that it soared as a film; its the absolute reverence paid by the likes of J.J. Abrams or Kathleen Kennedy that came to understand those core elements at the very heart of the Star Wars franchise. They knew its courageous heart, its soaring sense of adventure, its loveable inhabitants.

Those are the exact fundamentals so jarringly missing from the soulless prequel trilogy, which bore that same lack of reverence that turned Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull so sour in the minds of die-hard fans. Yes, I realise it sounds ridiculous to accuse George Lucas of not knowing his own story well enough, but as one of those die-hard fans, allowing the Indiana Jones movies to acknowledge the existence of UFOs is as illogical to me as letting James Bond ride a bicycle into his next mission.

Indy is history come to life. It’s a world seeped in the same fixations on ancient artefacts, rituals, and mysticisms that have obsessed treasure hunters for centuries. There’s simply no allowance in that formula for sci-fi to comfortably step in without causing some serious tonal damage; and, yes, that may seem like a nit-picking thing, but it’s just so exemplary to me of the near-careless attitude with which the fourth instalment rolled out. It’s like the people who made Indiana Jones forgot why the world fell in love with Indiana Jones in the first place.

Disney simply won’t make that same mistake, and that’s exactly why I’m so excited for Indiana Jones 5. The Force Awakens smoothed over the tonal cracks the prequels left like an open wound; and a new adventure for Dr. Jones promises to do exactly the same, thanks to a studio that’s made history its very art. Plus, George Lucas has conveniently retired from blockbusters; so there thankfully won’t be any hurt feelings about not re-hiring him as a screenwriter and zero "nuke the fridge" moments.

Sure, Disney’s got the minor problem of how to create a largely stunt-based movie with its 73-year-old lead, and it does seem incredibly likely some sort of successor will be picking up most of the grunt work here. But, you know? That’s OK; because the world Jones inhabits is just as rich with future potential as the galaxy far, far away. And Disney knows when it comes to franchises: it’s not the years, honey; it’s the mileage.