CAUTION: THERE ARE SPOILERS BELOW FOR INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL (2008) AS WELL AS STAR WARS EPISODE VII: THE FORCE AWAKENS (2015).

Most recently seen in American Honey (2016), it appears that Shia LaBeouf’s time as Henry Jones III has been cut short. According to IGN News, the actor will not be reprising his role as Mutt Williams in the upcoming Indiana Jones 5 (2020).

Crystal Skull and Indiana Jones 5 screenwriter David Koepp made a statement about Mutt’s character not being present in the upcoming sequel’s script. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the character himself will be forgotten or written out completely, or that the Hollywood strategy of trying to make us conveniently forget about him will take place; there will probably be some explanation made as to Mutt’s whereabouts, or a casual mention of his name so that we know he still exists and is doing something out there. But it’s not Mutt’s story, after all.

This is not really surprising news, at least given the mixed to mostly negative reception of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull almost a decade ago. While Shia LaBeouf’s performance in the film was nothing really catastrophic, his actual character of Mutt was generally poorly received by audiences. There was also a rumor for a period of time that director Steven Spielberg and LaBeouf had a falling out not long after the film was wrapped up and released.

While some might think that Shia LaBeouf was destined to take over the heroic archaeologist’s role after how the last film concluded, it doesn’t appear that the character of Indiana Jones was going to go away anytime soon. Steven Spielberg was even reported to say concerning Indiana Jones 5 that they were not going to “kill off Indiana Jones,” like they recently did to Han Solo (Harrison Ford) in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The conclusion of Crystal Skull had Mutt picking up Indiana Jones’ fedora, about to put it on his head when Harrison Ford snatches it at the last minute and places it on his own with a sly grin, as he and Marion walk out of the church, arm in arm. It does seem like Shia LaBeouf was going to pick up the mantle, but then again having Ford snatch it at the last minute pretty much confirmed, at least to this writer, that Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones was not done yet, and that there is only one Indiana. Also, since Indy married Marion Ravenwood, Karen Allen should be reprising that role, if only in a small scene, but her name has yet to be confirmed in the casting process. 

Currently, Indiana Jones 5 has a release date of July 10, 2020, with a confirmed star Harrison Ford (obviously), a confirmed director Steven Spielberg, and a confirmed writer of the aforementioned David Koepp. Of course, this film’s release has been pushed back before, so the date could certainly change again. Let’s hope we get it sooner than later.