‘Indiana Jones 5’ Screenwriter Promises Not to Bring Back Mutt
Next year will mark one decade since the release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, in case you weren’t yet feeling particularly close to death this morning. And in the interim, a lot has changed, specifically the connotative associations of The Wild One-era Marlon Brando aesthetics. When he appeared in the 2008 film, a pre-everything Shia LaBeouf was able to pull off the signature “leather jacket, white t-shirt, blue jeans, goofy-looking hat” ensemble serviceably enough. But we’re living in a post-Wally Brando world now. Michael Cera’s performance as a pint-sized wild one in Twin Peaks: The Return has effectively laid claim to the look forevermore. Mutt cannot exist in a world commanded by Wally Brando.
It is for this and, presumably, other reasons that Indiana Jones 5 screenwriter David Koepp has opted not to revive LaBeouf’s hardscrabble biker for the latest installment of the adventure film franchise. Though Crystal Skull ended with the tease that Mutt would take up Indy’s mantle of globetrotting excitement, an interview with Entertainment Weekly has confirmed that Mutt will not show his face in the upcoming film. Koepp established that the new movie will not depart from the tried-and-true formula of “Indy pursues magical artifact in race against his foes” in any radical fashion, either.
At this early stage in the game, the fanbase’s main question concerns how close this thing is to actually existing. Koepp adds in the interview that all systems are go, they’re just waiting for a little space to clear in director Steven Spielberg’s schedule. Now that the man’s done with Ready Player One and The Post, he may be in the right spot: “If the stars align, hopefully it’ll be his next film.”