New Indiana Jones Movie Won't Feature Shia LaBeouf's Character

A new piece of information about the next Indiana Jones movie has come to light. Writer David Koepp said in a new interview that Shia LaBeouf's character from 2008's Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Mutt Williams, is not going to be in the follow-up.

Koepp told Entertainment Weekly that while Harrison Ford is coming back to play Indiana Jones himself, LaBeouf's character won't be there. "Harrison plays Indiana Jones, that I can certainly say," Koepp said. "And the Shia LaBeouf character is not in the film."

Williams AKA Henry Jones III, is the son of Indiana Jones in the movie's fiction. There had been some speculation that LaBeouf's character might take over as the new lead when Ford eventually stopped playing the lead in Indiana Jones movies.

Koepp went on to say that he and director Steven Spielberg are "mostly happy" with the current draft for the new Indiana Jones movie. The film will follow "some precious artifact that they're all looking for," Koepp said, though no other details are available.

As for when the movie might start actual production, Koepp said that will be decided by Spielberg and Ford. Koepp said he hopes the new Indiana Jones is Spielberg's next movie after The Post, which recently finished shooting, apparently.

LaBeouf criticised Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. In 2010 Los Angeles Times interview, LaBeouf said, "I feel like I dropped the ball on the legacy that people loved and cherished." Speaking to Variety, LaBeouf said of Spielberg, "I grew up with this idea, if you got to Spielberg, that's where it is. You get there, and you realize you're not meeting the Spielberg you dream of. You're meeting a different Spielberg, who is in a different stage in his career. He's less a director than he is a f**king company."

The fifth Indiana Jones movie hits theatres in July 2020.