During the holidays my brother-in-law, a major Indiana Jones fan, brought up the idea of rebooting the series with Chris Pine as the adventurous archeologist. A little research online showed he's not alone: turns out there are plenty of rumors that Disney's looking to nab the Trek franchise star to relaunch Indy.
My family and I agreed that Pine certainly has the chops for it, able to play both straight and comedic action roles with flourish. My mother still insists that only Harrison Ford can truly wear the fedora, which I'm sure many also believe, but that's the same argument used against every new Bond and Doctor Who to come to the screen. As a theatre person I'm perfectly comfortable with multiple actors portraying the same role. A new Indiana Jones series could allow the franchise breathe if allowed to, hearkening back to its roots and giving us new adventures to delight in.
We all agreed a return to a Biblical artifact is a must for any new movie; Indy's forays into the occult haven't been nearly as successful as his encounters with the divine. I tried to think of something beyond the Ark and the Holy Chalice that would have the same gravity and got a bit stumped. The Shroud of Tourin is already found, and any other relics are so poorly known that they wouldn't have the resonance.
If the movie was a straight re-imagining of Raiders of the Lost Ark, the next move would be to cast Indy's costar. Here we really went in circles trying to cast Marion Ravenwood, going through actress after actress. I came up with Rachel Nichols, star of the Canadian time travel show Continuum. She's got the looks and the range to pull it off, but despite some roles in recent blockbusters doesn't have nearly the star power as Pine. Still, the original Marion wasn't that well known coming into the role either, and it'd be nice to see someone outside the usual Ellen Page, Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Lawrence triumvirate currently in vogue get a shot at headlining an action flick.
Keeping with the Raiders theme we tried to round out the rest of the cast. When it comes to German baddies there's only one guy to call: Christopher Waltz. I don't care what else he's starring in at the moment, he should totally have that part of chief Nazi Major Arnold Toht. Indy's rival Dr. Belloq could be a number of current stars: the new Magneto Michael Fassbender, or even the multistarred Leonardo DiCaprio.
Who to play Indy's top friend Sallah? My brother-in-law suggested a reprise by John Rhys-Davies, which isn't a bad idea as I honestly can't think of a single person who fits his type right now. And if you have to give Harrison a cameo, what better role than Indy's mentor Dr. Marcus Brody?
I'm not sold on all the details yet, but I do think Pine is an excellent choice to head up a new series. Got some casting ideas of your own? Share in the comments.
