In the mid-90’s, George Lucas proposed an a fourth Indy film called “Indiana Jones and the Saucer Men From Mars.” Jeb Stuart, screenwriter of Die Hard and The Fugitive, was hired to pen the script. An unconfirmed 1995 draft showed up online ten years later, and the story involved an alien artifact which continuously changes possession between Indy, Russian badguys, and aliens from another planet.
IndyFan.com described the story as “convoluted and unbelievable,” and the script ends with an indulgent sappy sequence with Indy marrying the lady linguist who accompanied him throughout the adventure, with a ceremony witnessed by all the living characters from the films including Short Round and Henry Jones, Sr. If that doesn’t sound bad enough, let me say that Indy also encounters crocodiles and pirates on this adventure. You can still find that draft by doing a quick google search.
Ford told EW “No way am I being in a Steve Spielberg movie like that.” Steven Spielberg was also not happy with that idea, and admitted publicly that “There was a point where I thought George and I would never agree on the story.” It took more than a decade to come up with a screenplay that Ford, Spielberg and Lucas were all willing to settle on.
On What has changed from Then to Now:
“It was the three of us, Steven, George and I, coming to agreement on the central notion of it all,” Ford explained. “I think the original idea is still a large piece of it in the movie, but it’s been developed and worked on in ways that made it a lot more palatable to Steven and I.”
Lucas told the AP: “The MacGuffin of it slowed down a little bit from what my original enthusiastic version was. Again, that’s the way it works with Steven and Harrison and I. We’re not going to do anything anyone’s uncomfortable with. We want to do something everybody likes, we in the group, the three of us. They wanted to go off on some other tangent. I said, ‘I’m not going to do that. I’m going to stick with this no matter what, so we either do this or we don’t. That’s it.’ Finally, we got something that we could all compromise on and all be happy with. It wasn’t quite as wacky as I wanted it to be, but it still is subtle and nice and works really well and has the same idea behind it.”
May 17th, 2008 at 2:51 am
I read the original draft, and it does seem like alot of the plot from it will be in KoTCS.
May 17th, 2008 at 2:53 am
Wow, the more I read about this the more I reconfirm just how out there Lucas really is…unreal.
May 17th, 2008 at 4:22 am
im being serious here, and its not really a joking matter so i hope its not too much to ask for maturity on this topic: maybe lucas has some kind of disability that we are unaware of. if so, that would absolutely explain why HE’S A COMPLETE FUCKING RETARD AND SHOULD BE PUT DOWN.
May 17th, 2008 at 5:54 am
I’m not saying that the screenplay for “Indiana Jones and the Saucer Men from Mars” would make a great film (or even a mediocre one), but the alien invasion plot is in keeping with the B-movie aspects of the franchise.
I mean, I hate Lucas as much as the next disgruntled fanboy, but accusing him of being “out there” or saying he’s “lost it” because he came up with that title and plot is ridiculous. It’s a perfectly sane suggestion considering the franchise’s B-movie origins.
BTW, I’m not directing this solely at you, Chimaera, I’ve just heard a bunch of this kind of criticism over the past few weeks (as if Lucas is bat-shit insane for even suggesting aliens in an Indy film). Sometimes I think people forget what these films are all about…
May 17th, 2008 at 6:10 am
Hmm… I always thought it was more about some type of supernatural plot that had more to do with religion and had no mention of aliens anywhere. There should be a petition to ban Lucas from films just like Uwe Boll…
May 17th, 2008 at 6:38 am
The more I hear about Lucas in the Jones world the more I think he’s a fucking idiot.
May 17th, 2008 at 6:48 am
What George Lucas can’t seem to wrap his head around is compared to the swashbuckling adventure serials of the 30’s, the vast, vast majority of 50’s alien/invasion serials were embarassingly awful.
May 17th, 2008 at 7:54 am
what the hell?
May 17th, 2008 at 8:04 am
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Indiana and Mutt are both dog names; what’s up with that?
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May 17th, 2008 at 8:21 am
The reason Indiana Jones worked so well with the first movie was because it dealt with the holy and the supernatural which have a much firmer place in the general consciousness of people than something as far out as aliens. Aliens takes it more into the realm of sci-fi, while Indiana Jones, as unrealistic as it can be, always felt best when it seemed like it took place in the same world we commute to work in. Personally, I think Lucas is a good producer - he’s good at getting moving parts together and working but I don’t think he is very clear on what really make a good story that the public can fall in love with. The Star Wars prequels proved this… the story (despite the potential intensity of pathos in the story of the fall of Anakin) was about as deep as if a 4 year old had written them.
May 17th, 2008 at 9:11 am
ALSO, THE SHARK IN STEVEN’S MOVIE,,,DIDN’T WORK CORRECTLY!!! SO, THEY HAD TO CUT THE MANY SHOTS, USING THE SHARK. THAT WERE PLANNED.IT WAS A TOTAL MALFUNCTION AND ACCIDENT…THAT SEEING LITTLE OF THE BIG BAD SHARK,,GAVE US THE BIGGEST SCARE. NOT PLANNED,,NOT GENIUS…. JUST AN ACCIDENT. LISTEN TO THE ACTORS, AND WRITERS,,,, PRODUCERS, AND DIRECTORS,,, GET WAY TOO MUCH CREDIT IN THIS BUSINESS.
May 17th, 2008 at 9:25 am
lol
what a damn joke, it would have turned out worse than the star wars prequels
May 17th, 2008 at 9:42 am
It’s really sad to see that the Lucasfilm kingdom has fallen so far. I remember how excited everyone on Earth was when the announcement came that there was going to be a new Star Wars trilogy. I remember sitting in my college’s library, friends crowded around the computer, watching the first teaser for Episode I.
The same kind of feeling surrounds a new Indy movie. And it feels like we’re going to get the same kind of immense, epic letdown. I just hope we don’t. I can understand the B-movie origins of the series and that’s totally cool. But, Israel is right in the fact that dealing with the spiritual and religious plotlines roots the story in a world we can almost believe. Aliens take it out of that realm. Although a lot of people believe in ET life (myself included), it does slide the movie into the sci-fi realm.
Although true, the last thing I want the marquee to read is “From the director who brought you ‘War of the Worlds’ and the producer of ‘Star Wars: The Phantom Menace’ comes…”
May 17th, 2008 at 10:40 am
I think the alien story sounds cool. There’s something wrong with Lucas, Spielberg, and Ford in that they’ve forgotten that Indi is supposed to be a PARODY of serial films. And there’s even more wrong with the Internet and how people review movies before seeing them. You can’t make a proper work of art in the public forum.
May 17th, 2008 at 10:41 am
Its funny people like Bay take so much crap for their work, yet Lucas gets to skate…
May 17th, 2008 at 11:17 am
ROTFLMFAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 17th, 2008 at 11:49 am
@ Israel Groveman: You’re right… aliens are WAY too “far out.” A golden chest that spews Nazi-killing spirits, magic stones, and a dingy cup that grants immortality is much more realistic. Come on. I mean, I personally never had a problem suspending my disbelief (due in large part to excellent writing and directing) but the religious stuff is just as “far out” as anything extra-terrestrial.
@ T-MACK: Also, like everything else, 30’s and 40’s serials ranged in quality from good to bad. As did 50’s B-movies.
Face it, nobody likes the idea of aliens because it doesn’t fit-in with their preconceived notions and expectations about what the next Indiana Jones film should be (expectations that have been compounded by time, nostalgia, and every fanboy’s misguided belief that they alone know what’s best).
I think aliens are a solid choice considering that the Indiana Jones trilogy deals specifically with modern mythology. And I can’t think of anything else that fits the bill more perfectly (unless you’d rather see Indy pursuing Big Foot or the Loch Ness Monster).
May 17th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
At one point, wasn’t there a concept floating around for “Indiana Jones and the Haunted House” or something? I remember hearing this some time ago.
May 17th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
The Indiana Jones series is not a “parody” of serial films, it’s an homage. Big, big difference, Lars.
May 17th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
I see a good deal of Lucas bashing and while I can see it being warranted, I think people neglect a key proponent to Lucas’ success. He’s not a good writer, he’s a GREAT adapter. The first Star Wars saga was cribbed from works by Kurasawa and Flash Gordon serials. Indiana Jones was guided by religious mythology and again 1930s and 40s serials. He mashed these stories together in a unique way and made them his own.
The problem I see is that he set a precedent and when he diverges from it fans get angry. I’ve been one such enraged fan. But I can’t blame him for doing what he wants with his story.
May 17th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Lucas held the franchise hostage to get his crummy idea made.
How sad that a wealthy and powerful man, who could not convince both a legendary director and actor, had to resort to such behavior to get what he wanted…
May 19th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Before we even get to the alien stuff let me make one thing very clear: The Indiana Jones movies are nothing more than fun houses of spooks and horrors. These films were never intended to be some kind of religious propaganda, not even in the slightest sense. In no way are the filmmakers trying to impose their personal spiritual beliefs onto the audience. The basic idea of these films is to merely incorporate the sensationalism of the supernatural. However, “Supernatural” is a broad term and is open to virtually limitless ideas and interpretation. You could come up with just about anything involving ghost or magic or mystical forces in relation to any kind of folklore no matter how old or new. The only problem though, if you would even go so far as to call it that, is that because the ideas are limitless they sometimes tend to be rather arbitrary as well. This isn’t necessarily a set rule, just a frequently noted response from viewers.
So the filmmakers understood that if you come up with a piece of folklore that has had a lasting effect on society - that audiences are highly familiar with, then the better chance you have of baiting their interest. Religion and folklore, though categorically not the same, still go hand-in-hand together all too easily. So it’s only fitting to pull stories from religious beliefs and exploit them for their fanciful supernatural elements. The Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail were concepts that people generally clicked with and said “Hey, I’ve heard of that - I know that story!”. Yet as with Temple of Doom (A movie that I love by the way) it is also evident that the MacGuffin didn’t have to be as referential as what was seen in the other two films in order to serve as an intriguing plot device. So this might seem counter-argumentative as to what is stated above but, again, there is no definitive right and wrong way as to what kind of supernatural treasure you wish to implement into your story. Perhaps if the MacGuffin itself is not so well known then, as compensation, you could emphasize the general atmospheric folklore of the culture and setting that surrounds it. This, I think, is what they did well with the second film though many have debated otherwise.
However, this doesn’t mean the Indyverse is one that is solely constructed out of biblical or divine references. A lot of people are saying that aliens won’t work because “It doesn’t fit in with the Indy movies” or “It just doesn’t feel very Indy’ like”. Yet I would argue that if you start basing set parameters simply off what you have seen so far then you really have no parameters at all. Were talking art/entertainment not mathematics - Creative variables are seldom consistent let alone identical. Crystal Skulls themselves may be a bit esoteric but the overall concept of ancient alien civilizations or the idea that human beings are in one way or another connected with other worldly visitors is one of the most common most popular myths through out the entire world. And even if this fourth installment does infuse some sort of weirdly alien technology I wouldn’t jump the gun into thinking that the franchise will somehow go from supernatural to Star Trek. Because when we think aliens, especially in terms of movies, we automatically associate with what popular culture as offered us so far; modernized contemporary conspiracy thrillers with taciturn scientist waxing long strands of pseudo-scientific intellectual jargon about what they’ve just studied under a microscope. I seriously doubt Indy 4 will fallow this genre. With enough imagination and originality (Which shouldn’t be a problem for Lucas) you can intermix the alien motif with just about any other kind of cultural-historical-religious motif one could think of. So yeah, the overall idea might be a little…”out there” but I think it is something new and refreshing as to what has been done in the previous films.
June 10th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Israel Groveman (May 17) summed it up well. There IS a real difference between an action film that embraces the ‘holy’/supernatural/mystical (as all three of the original films did) and a film that has alien invaders from another dimension! Some of the action scenes in “Crystal Skull” manage to recapture the feel of the original trilogy - but they can’t disguise the fact that the plot is a big disappointment. Like the Star Wars prequels, one is left feeling this film could - and should - have been so much better.