He makes a valid point about whether, even in November, people will feel ready to sit in a cinema for a couple of hours. Covid isn’t going away that soon and most experts now seem to be in agreement that it will be back in the winter. There also seems to be a growing sense that governmental ‘stay at home’ advice/orders will be lifted/re-imposed throughout the remainder of the year, and that could well coincide with the release. I’m not quite ready to believe November’s theatrical release will happen, but who knows. We’ll have a better idea by summer.
I have this odd feeling, that if NTTD misses its November release too as a result of COVID-19, there might be a chance we get the film on streaming instead.
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I agree.
Just a suggestion: We’re all a) looking forward to getting past this crisis and b) getting our much needed dose of Bond escapism. While we can contribute to a by staying the hell home, I think I’ve found an adequate solution for b. I’ve started re reading Jeffrey Deaver’s Carte Blanche, which I haven’t touched since it was released 9 years ago. It’s aged unbelievably well and it’s contemporary setting really does give it some fresh energy. It’s scratching the itch, is what I’m saying. Worth a re read while on quarantine for sure. Stay safe everyone!
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Watching all the PTS sequences was quite fun actually
A little off-topic, but I’ve doubted for a while that Indy 5 will happen, so I wonder if the virus will be blamed for it.
I still don’t know how Indy 5 will work with 78-79 year old Harrison Ford. After the train-wreck that is the Disney sequel trilogy for SW (that seemed to be more interested in fan service and throwing Rian Johnson under the bus, than actually telling a cohesive story), I’m not sure I want disney touching Indiana Jones. While Harrison Ford is perfect as Indy, we’ve seen recastings work out just fine (we are on a James Bond fan site after all). I think Indiana Jones needs to be recast with a younger actor. The series doesn’t need to reboot, but a near 80 year old does not for a convincing action hero make. I would say either Chris Pratt or Bradley Cooper would be great.
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The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi were both financially and critically successful - the latter achievement being something that alluded Lucas on each films release (though I notice twitter conveniently forgot about the viscous bitching the internet did about the prequels for 20 years* - to the point of driving Jar Jar Binks actor, Ahmed Best, to contemplate Suicide)
Disney did a better job than Lucas did - Lucas, who couldn’t even be consistent with himself. So let’s not criticise half a decade of work with the go-to complaint that leapt up after Rise Of Skywalker, of “seemed to be more interested in fan service than actually telling a cohesive story”
Cause C3PO, R2D2 and “what I said was right, from a certain point of view” say that, after 34 years, the only response to that complaint on Star Wars is…
So, following in the foot steps of CGI monkeys, Sean Connery being a dad at 9, shameless racism and a LITERAL DEUS EX MACHINA - exactly what awful thing could Disney do to Indy that Lucas didn’t?
As for Rian Johnson getting thrown under the bus - that is just factually not true - he’s the only person, writer or director, whose future films in Star Wars havn’t been cancelled or sent to Disney+ following Solo’s disappointing box office.
I suppose I should explain my certain point of view better. I’m not trying to argue that Disney ruined Star Wars or prequel bashing, Jar Jar, ewoks, or any of that. My problem with the Disney Star Wars films boils down to the fact that they do not tell an organic story and rely very heavily on fan service to try and please it’s audience (definitely TFA and TROS moreso than TLJ). After the backlash to TLJ, it seems that Disney rushed Abrams back to create a film that appealed to the most vocal anti-TLJ backers (not to mention, it strangely retread a lot of the plot points from Avengers: Engame). And by effectively retconning TLJ almost entirely out of existence, they basically threw all of the fault for divisiveness on Johnson instead of defending their product. Yes, I understand that Indiana Jones has an uncomfortable history with racism (Temple of Doom), which came just a year after James Bond dealt with some of its own shameful racism in regards to the same country (India). Additionally, I don’t hate Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in the way that many people do. My fear with Indy, as seen with Star Wars, is that it will rely way too much on fan service and nostalgia.
My point is, Lucas ALSO did that, actually to a greater degree. He leant hard on retcons, contradictions and mind wipes for fan service purposes. Darth Vader and Boba Fett are two actually quite minor characters in the first appearances, but then, entirely for fan service, Lucas crowbarred in retcons and “from a certain point of view” style logic to give them bigger roles. R2D2 and C3PO have no reason to be there outside A New Hope, but Lucas brought them back over and over again, and even gave them a spin off cartoon. Disney gets blamed for things Lucas was far more guilty of, for no other reason than the audience grew up between seeing a specific film and now.
As for Indy - do you think Marion, Marcus Brady and Sallah returned for story reasons?
I should say, it’s not unique to Star Wars and Indy; just look round here for Bond films being victims of “were at their best when I first discovered them as a child” and, as a site, we’re far more sane and understanding about the passage of time than most fan sites.
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I think your points are definitely valid - but I can also understand how underwhelming as a story the last three films felt. Crucial events happened off stage - How did the free galaxy yet again fall victim to a fascist military complex? How did the entire idea of Jedi training and codex suddenly seem so appalling to Luke he closes shop when the competition’s business very demonstrably seemed to flourish? - and we’re back on square one at first, then move to square 15 and back to square three again, figuratively speaking.
In my view THE RISE OF SKYWALKER has a satisfying finale in its last frames - but it feels a bit as if all the really interesting stuff happened elsewhere. Maybe even in the novels and games and comics that popped up over the years. The sequel trilogy is fun, no doubt. But I for one feel it could have been more fun. Above all else, it should have come 15 to 20 years sooner…
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No offense to Harrison Ford, but I’ve been a fan of rebooting the series since the 90’s. There were so many stories to farm pre-Raiders that another actor could have easily pulled off, but it didn’t happen. Now, I’m not so sure Indy would have the same effect today. That said, and don’t laugh, but I’m hoping Jungle Cruise with the Rock spawns a series that gives us that same wonder of adventure.
Why would I laugh at that? My favorite types of stories are pulpy, action/adventures, which is why I spend so much time on James Bond forums.
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cough Spectre, end of Skyfall cough
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Again true of Lucas’ six, the sequel trilogy had problems, yes, but it was the same problems present in every entry of the Skywalker saga. Prequels = vast majority of Palpatines rise to power is off screen, original trilogy = most of the empires crimes are told to us long after the fact.
Hell; Anakin, Luke and Rey all become Jedi off screen.
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…See!
Yea, I’m not denying that. I’m also saying that it doesn’t work. Trying to emulate the 60s Bond films with the Craig era is bad pandering and we see how bad it all comes off. Just like there was no need for Indy 4 to start in the warehouse from the end of Raiders. My point is that I don’t want to see things that remind me of the past. Give me new stories. It’s why No Time To Die has seemed so fresh compared to Spectre (though I really hope Safin isn’t, you know who). The Force Awakens and Rise of Skywalker spend so much time trying to remind you of the original films, that they forget to be their own movies. TFA is just a remake of ANH and ROS has no clue what it wants to be.
I’d agree, mostly, I’d just say that Star Wars has always been like that, not an original bone in its body, preferring to pander than tell a story. Johnson got more of a story in his one than the other 8 (it’s relative) purely because of the tendency in his work to toy with conventions - his non Star Wars work, not to mention his episodes of Breaking Bad, revel in it - so you actually get a critique of Star Wars; the whole narrative being about the iconography people talk about is worthless compared to the wider world and context who feel the consequences - a wider world the Skywalker saga had left to just exposition for the most part. To that regard, Rogue One, Solo,The Mandalorian, Jedi Fallen Order, Rebels etc, are better forms of storytelling than the core series, as consequences are seen as stories in of themselves, not just exposition between good moments for trailers.
I might give that another read. Good idea, Matt.
I also pay tribute to Brosnan’s Bond, the ultimate isolation king. 14 months in captivity while being tortured. What an inspiration! I’m working from home now, and I’m seriously thinking about not shaving for the entire duration. Could be months. Why not? 
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And sting yourself with scorpions again and again. You may even enjoy it after a bit.
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