Indiana Jones 5 Will Be Steven Spielberg's Next Movie--Report

Back in 2016, it was announced that star Harrison Ford and director Steven Spielberg will return for a fifth Indiana Jones movie. Last year the film was officially given a 2020 release date slot, but there has been little news about its progress since then. However, it has now been reported that Spielberg is looking to start shooting the movie next year.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Indiana Jones 5 is currently set to be director's next project. The site notes that casting is actually underway for his movie after that, a remake of the classic musical West Wide Story. However, Spielberg's desire to assemble an "ethnically authentic" Hispanic cast for the latter means that work on it has started ahead of Indy 5. THR's sources also state there remains the possibility of the prolific filmmaker slotting in a smaller film prior to both.

In September last year, screenwriter David Koepp provided an update on the progress of the Indy 5 script. He revealed that he and Spielberg were "mostly happy" with the current draft, and that the film will follow "some precious artefact that they're all looking for." He also confirmed that Indy's son Mutt, played by Shia LaBeouf in 2008's Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, will not return for this latest film.

Back in March 2016, Ford spoke about why he was returning to the role of the iconic archeologist for the fifth time. "The opportunity to work with Steven again on this character which has brought pleasure to so many," he said. "Not to mention me. It's great fun to play this character. It's great fun to work with Steven, I'm looking forward to it."

Although Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was considered a disappointment by many fans, it still grossed more than $786 million worldwide. Altogether, the series has brought in nearly $2 billion at the global box office across all four releases.