Rumors are circulating today, based on a report from Deadline, that Chris Pratt is being eyed for the role of Indiana Jones in an upcoming yet undetermined Indy flick. I don’t think there is any surprise in news of continuing the franchise. The series still has a loving fan base and with the excitement looming around “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” it only makes sense that Disney would look to the next most well known and revered Lucas title for its next move.
From a logistical standpoint it would also make sense to consider Pratt for the role, in addition to the obvious similarities between his performance of Starlord and the Indy character, Pratt already has contracts with Marvel so he’s already part of the Disney family.
That said, this rumor has no credibility at all.
My other real concern is of Pratt oversaturation. He’s funny, he’s charming, he can command the screen, I don’t begrudge him his success at all. In fact based his public persona, I quite like the guy, but I worry that we’re in store for too much of a good thing. Odds are his involvement in the Marvel universe is set to increase and he’ll be helming “Jurassic World” later this year, I worry that involving him in another big franchise will seem like too much right away.
It’s also worth noting that the same story was circulating months ago, with Chris Pratt, and even before then but with Bradley Cooper in the role. Whether that lends credibility to the claim or this recent rumor is just a rehashing of old news, I can’t say. Only time will tell.
Maybe I’m wrong, maybe he’ll get the part and he’ll be incredible and we’ll build monuments to remember him for time and all eternity. But most importantly while it’s not impossible, or even improbable, there is no reliable source on the data. Deadline reports it as “a dishy informed rumor” and that’s all it is, if it’s even that.
Other whisperings with at least as much credibility suggest that Harrison Ford has a lock on future “Indiana Jones” movies as a stipulation of his involvement with “Episode VII.” Which would mean that Pratt couldn’t possibly be cast as the character unless it was a flashback along the lines of River Phoenix in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.” In addition, industry insiders like Drew McWeeny at HitFlix gives it absolutely no stock.
This one feels pretty firmly untrue, it just feels way too much like fanboy casting to me, but hey, if it happens it will probably be awesome.