Producer Says Bradley Cooper as Indiana Jones Rumors are 'Ridiculous'

Ever since a rumor surfaced that Disney had Bradley Cooper on their list to take over as Indiana Jones in fifth film, it's been nothing but raging debate on the subject. Of course the reaction has been split with some liking the idea of Indiana Jones being recast ala James Bond, while others don't want to see anybody but Ford in the role. But this was all just a rumor at this point; a sketch rumor at that, and it's already being debunked by someone who would definitely know.

Producer Frank Marshall, who has been involved with every Indiana Jones movie to date, hit Twitter to smack down the rumor in short order...

Due to the ridiculous rumors that keep popping up, like agents pipe dreams, I will stop commenting on our projects until I have real news.
— Frank Marshall (@LeDoctor) March 26, 2014

So who knows what's really going on, but it does seem unlikely that Disney is going to let Indiana Jones idle for much longer. It was Latino Review that first broke the story to begin with, and they put perhaps the finest point on this whole thing...

You really believe that Disney bought the Indy franchise so that it begins & ends with Ford?
— elmayimbe (@elmayimbe) March 26, 2014

Overall I think LR's sourcing was off.....for now. None of us are stupid. We know Disney is going to do more Indiana Jones movies, and they will do them without Harrison Ford when he's done. They just don't seem to be working on them just yet.

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Rumor: Disney Eying Bradley Cooper as the Next Indiana Jones

When Disney swallowed up Lucasfilm and the rights to Star Wars, the natural assumption was they would also get cracking on a new Indiana Jones adventure. But that didn't happen, with Disney CEO Alan Horn stating quite simply "We haven’t done anything. We don’t have  a story. We need a story.” It was some time later that Disney gave all of those Indy fans hope by acquiring the rights to all future Indiana Jones movies, but still there's been no movement on a fifth film even though Harrison Ford is eager to do one.

That could all be about to change if the latest bombshell rumor is true. According to Latino Review, Disney recognizes the window of opportunity to get moving on a new Indiana Jones film with Ford is closing fast. The actor is in his 70s now and is expected to return for Star Wars: Episode VII and (possibly) a new Blade Runner film, meaning there are only so many action movies left for him. The story goes if they don't start production on it by a specific date, then they'll move on to somebody else as the wise-cracking adventurer. Are we talking reboot, here? Well, not exactly.

Instead, the plan would be to recast Indy the same way James Bond has been recast over the years. And apparently tops on Disney's list to take over the role is Bradley Cooper. He's just one of a few names they are considering at this point, and it doesn't sound as if any formal talks have begun with anybody. George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Ford had come to an agreement on what the next story should be, but that was a long time ago before Disney got into the mix. Now they're basically starting from scratch, with a pitch apparently coming from Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption).

Basically, what we have is Bradley Cooper ending up on a wishlist for a film we know Disney is going to make at some point. The Indiana Jones franchise is too profitable to let sit in limbo for much longer.

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