Incontinent Jones

There's a fourth Indiana Jones film coming, according to various websites, including IGN and Ain't It Cool. At the very least, a script has been finalized and director Steven Spielberg has committed to filming it next year. Perhaps even George Lucas himself will take a hand in it seeing as how Star Wars is over and done.

Which leads me to thinking about what this extension of the classic pulp-action adventure series will be about? For one thing, Indy cannot be played by any other actor other than Harrison Ford. It just simply won't be Indy without him. Well, the former space scoundrel and whip-cracking hero is now a bit on the senior side, playing older characters in films like Six Days, Seven Nights and a very mature Jack Ryan in the earlier Tom Clancy adaptation films. Heck, he even played the US President in Air Force One. So how's an older Indy going to figure in the next one?

Will Indy 4 have a retired, aging Indy get called back out into action? Will he be married (hopefully to his first and best flame, Marion Ravenwood played by Nancy Allen) and have any kids? Perhaps the movie will involve a son or daughter also into archaeology- a great way to reverse the storyline from Last Crusade.

Will he still be fighting Nazis? Certainly, Jones doesn't need to be always fighting evil Germans to make a good film- he fought Thugees after all in Temple of Doom. But it may be kinda weird to have Indy fighting Al Qaeda.

As for the quest itself, what could it be? How do you top the Lost Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail and the Sankara Stones? Perhaps the Dead Sea Scrolls? The Longinus Lance? The Cross of Christ? Hey... I'm waxing Evangelion here. Who knows, Indy may be fighting UFOs. Or maybe even clones. Yikes.

Well, all I can say is that I'm all for it. It'll be cool to have Indy have at it one last time. And maybe even to bequeath the old felt hat onto another adventurer's head- a great way to continue the series. I just hope they don't kill him off like Kirk in Star Trek Generations. That just stank. Perhaps the best way for Indy to end is to eventually die of old age and then end up in a museum. Heh. Well, whatever... the wait is gonna be a long one. Let's just all wait and see.