David Koepp back at work on Indiana Jones 5; describes Dark Universe as ‘ill-conceived’

Screenwriter David Koepp knows about writing for franchises. In addition to writing Jurassic Park and its sequel, The Lost World, Koepp has also penned the scripts for the 2002 Sam Raimi-helmed Spider-Man and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

And now, not only has Koepp confirmed that he’s resumed working on the script for the next Indiana Jones film after being replaced, he also gave his thoughts on what went wrong with Universal’s moribund Dark Universe franchise after writing The Mummy.

Speaking with Den of Geek, the prolific screenwriter confirmed that yes, he is back at work on the script for the next Indy film.

“I’m working on it again,” said Koepp regarding the screenplay. “We’re still trying. And I think we’ve got a good idea this time. We’ll see.”

It was reported last year that Jonathan Kasdan of Solo: A Star Wars Story fame had replaced Koepp on writing duties, although it was unclear if Kasdan was completely rewriting Koepp’s draft or simply punching it up. Regardless, Koepp has confirmed that the script is back in his hands and he's back at work on it.

Not surprisingly, Koepp did not provide any additional details regarding the film’s story or possible title.

In his Q&A with the website, Koepp also talked a little bit about working on The Mummy, the first and most likely last film for the Dark Universe.

“They can’t all be winners,” Koepp laughed about his experience working on the Tom Cruise vehicle. “Yeah, you know, sometimes they don’t work out. It was difficult to work on. The entire [Dark Universe] thing was a little ill-conceived, and I think Universal realized, ‘Wait a minute – we are chasing the parade, not leading it. Let’s stop and rethink. We love monster movies. Let’s do this in a different way.’”

He added: “I think when you’re trying to imitate someone else’s organically evolved style or idea, and make it your own, it’s tough. And it’s not probably fated to work out.”

Indiana Jones 5 is currently slated for a July 9, 2021, release. 

(Via Den of Geek)