Steven Spielberg Says Indiana Jones Could Be Female Next
Prepare yourself for "Indiana Joan"...
Hold on to your Male Privilege, guys, it's about to get rocky.
There's a very good chance that Steven Spielberg has been watching Tomb Raider - or playing it, anyway - because one of his suggestions for the future of the Indiana Jones franchise is basically just a pitch for another Lara Croft movie.
Speaking to The Sun, the Ready Player One director was asked about Indiana Jones 5 and beyond, when the franchise will probably be without talismanic actor Harrison Ford. He confirmed that it "will be Harrison Ford’s last Indiana Jones movie, I am pretty sure" but luckily for fans (and for Disney who wouldn't have bought the property without long-term plans, he also says "it will certainly continue after that.”
The tabloid then asked if his replacement could be a female actor, to which he nodded:
"We'd have to change the name from Jones to Joan. And there would be nothing wrong with that."
Well, nothing wrong other than the fact that Jones isn't Indy's first name, is it? But let's allow that one to slide.
It's little surprise that Spielberg would be drawn to the idea, given the influence that women have had on his life and career, by his own admission:
"My mom was strong. She had a voice, she had a very strong opinion... I have been very lucky to be influenced by women, several of whom I have just loved madly — my mom and my wife.”
Inevitably, it's bound to inspire accusations of needless PC-brigade-baiting (just watch how quickly someone uses the phrase SJW in this very article's comment thread), but there's no need for Indiana Jones to be male forever. And anyway, Disney's Jungle Cruise franchise is positioning itself as Indiana Jones with The Rock and trying to compete directly with that is just silly. So let's all welcome the possibility of change, eh?
And why not get Emily Blunt in for the role? She'd do an incredible job.