4. Its A Great Idea
The idea of Young Indiana Jones was devised during production of The Last Crusade, and a younger version of Indy does appear in that very film played by the late River Phoenix. The character we see in The Last Crusade is a young, naïve and gung-ho version of Indiana Jones. We effectively see how Indiana in 1912 compares to our initial view of the same character in 1936 in Raiders of the Lost Ark. But there is a gap, a divide of sorts, between the Indy of 1912 and the Indy of 1936. Essentially, in coming up with the idea of Young Indiana Jones, George Lucas and the production team filled that gap. And fill the gap they did, with the life-story of Indiana Jones, from 1908 to 1920, showing exactly what he got up to. It doesnt fill the gap entirely, but it serves as a prequel series exploring how Indy came to be, and following the character from a child in Egypt, the son of an Archaeology lecturer; to a young war-veteran emerging in the Roaring Twenties. Young Indiana Jones answers a lot of questions too. Why does Indy have a fascination and dedication to archaeology; where did he learn to shoot, to ride motorcycles, to sweet-talk women; how does he have experience of so many cultures? The diamond we see in the Shanghai opening of Temple of Doom can be found as a major storyline of Young Indiana Jones, explaining Indys desperation to retrieve it in 1935. Damn it, Willy! On top of keeping to the traditional image of Indiana Jones, we see a refreshingly new side to the character. We see a frightened child, a clumsy teenager, even a cranky old man (in the original TV run, an old Indiana Jones appeared, played by George Hall). We see an Indy who faces moral dilemmas, an Indy exposed to violence for the first time, an Indy who makes a fool of himself. We see a character who makes mistakes and feels regret, a character who has loved and lost, a character who leaves home a boy and returns a man. Ultimately we see a great character, and with him a great idea, being developed.