Star Wars: Episode VII and Indiana Jones News

Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn gave a speech at Variety's Dealmakers Breakfast earlier today, where he dropped some updates on Star Wars: Episode VII, which still doesn't have a completed screenplay yet, Indiana Jones 5, which also doesn't have a script, and how he won't interfere with Marvel's creative vision.

Variety writer Marc Graser has been tweeting throughout the announcements, which reveal that J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan won't have their screenplay completed until sometime in January, making this the most rushed movie ever seen in the franchise. Alan Horn won't reveal the budget, put places it somewhere at $200 million. And Indiana Jones 5 is still a good 2 years away from happening, as they don't have a story yet. (We see how well that is going for Star Wars). Oh, and despite the fact that they've had such a tough time getting Star Wars: Episode VII up and running, you can still expect a new movie every year starting in 2015. Check out Marc's full tweet session from his speech here.

 The lack of a completed script for Star Wars: Episode VII shouldn't be terribly surprising, since J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan took over the writing duties last month. Still, with shooting scheduled to begin next spring, and no cast members announced yet, it seems this production is already behind schedule before principal photography begins.

As for the spin-offs, we reported in October that these stand-alone movies will be origin stories, which will focus on Han Solo and Boba Fett. Simon Kinberg and Lawrence Kasdan are writing the screenplays for these movies, which will debut in 2016 and 2018, between the new prequel trilogy movies.

Disney acquired the rights to make Indiana Jones 5 earlier this month, although no screenwriter is attached at this time, and the project doesn't seem to be a high priority at Disney. Franchise star Harrison Ford revealed in August that he is still interested in portraying the iconic archaeologist.

Star Wars: Episode VII comes to theaters December 18th, 2015 and stars Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels. The film is directed by J.J. Abrams.

Future Indiana Jones Films news

From Disney


Although Walt Disney Pictures famously purchased Lucasfilm last year, the primary focus ever since has been the upcoming Star Wars: Episode VII with only the faintest rumblings about the potential for another major Lucasfilm franchise, Indiana Jones. Now, Disney and Paramount Pictures have announced they have reached a marketing and distribution agreement for the franchise.

Under the arrangement, Disney gains marketing and distribution rights to future films, in addition to retaining its current ownership rights which it secured when it acquired Lucasfilm. Paramount will continue to be responsible for distribution of the first four films in the franchise and will receive a financial participation on any future films that are produced and released.

George Lucas had last discussed a potential fifth big screen outing for Henry Jones, Jr. back in 2011, suggesting that a story was already in place, but that the film was still in need of a MacGuffin.

A term popularized by Alfred Hitchcock, a MacGuffin refers to a narrative element that drives the story forward. The Indiana Jones series is famous for making the MacGuffin the object of Jones' search. In Raiders of the Lost Ark it's the Ark of the Convenant, in Temple of Doom it's the Sankara Stones, in The Last Crusade it's the Holy Grail and, most recently, in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, it's the skull itself.

Although Disney will distribute any new entries in the franchise, Paramount retains the distribution rights to the first four films.

Regardless of what happens with either Star Wars: Episode VII or Indiana Jones 5, audiences won't be without Ford on the big screen. He already starred earlier this year in 42, Paranoia and Ender's Game and can soon be seen in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.