Indiana Jones 5 is delayed yet again

You’ll never guess the news that Disney announced today: Indiana Jones 5 is delayed. Yes, yet again.

As part of an adjustment of release dates for a number of Marvel films, Indiana Jones 5 has been pushed back from the previous release date of July 29, 2022 all the way to June 30, 2023 – pushing it back nearly a year!

It sounds like the reason for the changes to the Marvel films doesn’t so much have to do with the pandemic but rather production delays – which surely are impacted by the pandemic and the related fallout. Assuming that’s also true of Indy, it also might be worth noting that Harrison Ford injured his shoulder during filming this past summer, so it’s possible that’s a factor in it as well (though surely not the only reason for a delay of eleven months!).

The films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe that were delayed include Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, The Marvels, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. As is the case with so many interconnected films, delaying one will inevitably lead to delays of other films, so it does make sense. But none of them were delayed as significantly as Indiana Jones was.

Delays are nothing new for the fifth chapter of the iconic franchise, which following Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm and the subsequent announcement that the franchise would be continuing, was originally slated to release in 2019. That was pushed back first to 2020, then to 2021, and then to 2022… and now to 2023. So it’s easy to forgive people who are skeptical that this film will ever be released, though it’s been filming and is well underway in production.

The film will star Harrison Ford yet again as Indiana Jones for the fifth (and probably final) time, as he’ll be 81 years old when this film finally releases (as currently slated, barring any other delays…). Ford will star alongside Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Madds Mikkelson, and others. The film is being directed to franchise newcomer James Mangold, with Steven Spielberg still involved. The film is being executive produced by the legendary Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall and scored by the incomparable John Williams.