Cinema

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Bohemian Rhapsody is Now Highest-Grossing Music Biopic Ever

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Despite mixed reviews, director Bryan Singer's Queen/Freddie Mercury movie Bohemian Rhapsody now stands as the highest-grossing music biopic ever. It's not really surprising that a movie about Queen would be a hit, as there are few musical artists that boast a back catalog full of so many enduring songs. Whether it be the titular track, "Another One Bites the Dust," "Somebody to Love," their "Under Pressure" duet with fellow iconic performer David Bowie, or one of many other hits, Queen's music still lives on today, decades after the early death of Mercury.

Of course, while it's a definite success now, Bohemian Rhapsody hasn't been without controversy. Before it was even released, credited director Bryan Singer was fired by Fox in the middle of production, and Dexter Fletcher was brought on to finish the film. Interestingly, Fletcher ended up fully directing Rocketman, an upcoming biopic of another British rock star, Elton John. Then, once it came out, many Queen fans were put off by some of the many alterations to both the band's and Mercury's personal history.
Yet, while many people took issue with things like Mercury being portrayed as gay rather than bisexual, or Mercury's AIDS diagnosis being moved forward by several years to coincide with Live Aid, most moviegoers embraced the film. Bohemian Rhapsody took the #1 spot domestically in its debut weekend, and has now grossed a whopping $539 million worldwide on a budget of only $52 million, according to the latest numbers from Box Office Mojo. This places it in the top spot both domestically and worldwide when it comes to music biopics.

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On the domestic chart, Bohemian Rhapsody sits at $164 million, just barely topping previous record holder Straight Outta Compton, a 2015 biopic of the influential rap group N.W.A. When it comes to total worldwide gross though, Bohemian Rhapsody has no competition. Its $539 million total trounces Straight Outta Compton's $201 million worldwide gross, although to be fair, that film cost half as much to make as Singer's. Other famous music biopics like Walk the Line and Ray proved unable to even cross the $200 million mark.

In a fun side effect of Bohemian Rhapsody's box office dominance, Queen's music has also recently shot back up to the high end of the charts. Considering the amount of great Queen songs featured in the film, such a result isn't shocking. Many who loved Queen before the film likely had that love rekindled, and were inspired to buy their music. Conversely, many younger people who only knew of Queen as the guys who made "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions" were also likely introduced to a world of material they hadn't heard before. One doubts Freddie would've wanted it any other way.

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Crazy Rich Asians Bombs at China Box Office, Opening to $1.2 Million

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Crazy Rich Asians debuted in China this weekend, and promptly bombed at the box office. While the movie was a runaway hit in the U.S., grossing $173 million domestically, it has failed to translate that success abroad, earning only $64 million from international markets.

The highest grossing rom-com of the year, Crazy Rich Asians, based on the book of the same name by Kevin Kwan, tells the story of a Chinese-American woman (Constance Wu) who travels with her boyfriend (Henry Golding) to Singapore, where she discovers she’s unwittingly been dating the heir to an incredibly wealthy family and one of Asia’s most eligible bachelors.

Related: Crazy Rich Asians' Michelle Yeoh & Awkwafina Reunite For Action Film

Unfortunately, while Crazy Rich Asians was a smash success in America, the film earned a mere $1.2 million during its first weekend in China. Exhibitor Relations was the first to report the official box office numbers, but there had been much speculation about the film’s chance of success in China leading up to its release. Some industry prognosticators predicted that the level of success the movie achieved in America would be unlikely in the Asian market, for exactly the same reasons it smashed records domestically. While a film with an entirely Asian cast is refreshing and groundbreaking in the U.S., it’s not at all unusual in China, where almost all feature films include completely Asian casts.

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The timing of the film’s Chinese release also likely played a part in its disappointing debut. Crazy Rich Asians was released on August 15 in the U.S. and garnered much buzz, but by its November 30 release in China, that buzz had significantly died down. The large gap in release dates also meant that most Chinese moviegoers who were interested in seeing the film were probably able to watch it online through legally dubious means before it came to theaters in their country.

Despite the lackluster showing in international markets, Crazy Rich Asians is still on track for a sequel­ - or two. Kwan turned his bestseller into a trilogy, and there is every reason to expect the films will follow suit. The first sequel, based on Kwan’s book China Rich Girlfriend, has already begun moving forward with Jon M. Chu returning to direct. The Crazy Rich Asians effect has also reached beyond its own source material to greenlight other Chinese-centric films. Following the success of Crazy Rich Asians, Warner Brothers and New Line began moving forward with Single’s Day, a China-set romantic comedy based on the popular holiday that celebrates singledom. And this is likely just the beginning of a slate of films that will be looking to bank off of Crazy Rich Asians’ domestic, if not international, success.

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Doctor Sleep Director Reveals Shining Sequel Has Wrapped Production

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Doctor Sleep director Mike Flanagan shares that his adaptation of Stephen King's sequel to The Shining has officially wrapped production. In the realm of horror fiction, few names carry with them the reputation for greatness as Stephen King. While every one of the prolific author's many stories might not hit it out of the park, King's endlessly creative mind has birthed some of the best horror in history, including tales like IT, The Stand, Pet Sematary, and of course, The Shining.

While King has never been a big fan of director Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film adaptation of The Shining starring Jack Nicholson, the masses have always disagreed, with Kubrick's Shining often being cited as perhaps the greatest horror movie ever. Doctor Sleep, King's 2013 sequel novel to The Shining, doesn't match the original when it comes to acclaim, but the book earned mostly good reviews from fans and critics. Now, Haunting of Hill House creator/director Mike Flanagan is set to bring an adaptation of Doctor Sleep to the big screen, one which will hopefully prove a worthy companion piece to Kubrick's classic film.
Production on Flanagan's Doctor Sleep began back in September, and now, the director confirms via a recent Facebook post that the film has finished production. Interestingly, the producers involved had been trying to get a Doctor Sleep movie made for several years following the book's release, but were unable to get a greenlight from Warner Bros. until after IT came out last year and made $700 million at the box office. Maybe the delay worked out though, as Flanagan's resume in horror - Absentia, Oculus, Hush, etc. - makes him a great pick for the job. Check out his post below.

This won't be Flanagan's first time directing a King adaptation either, having helmed last year's acclaimed Netflix original movie version of Gerald's Game, a King story Hollywood had for decades believed to be unfilmable, Flanagan proved those beliefs wrong, and got a knockout performance out of lead actress Carla Gugino, who returned for Haunting of Hill House. Another Gerald's Game star, Bruce Greenwood, will play Dr. John Dalton in Doctor Sleep, continuing Flanagan's penchant for sticking with actors he likes. It's Flanagan's first time working with Ewan McGregor though, who stars in Doctor Sleep as an adult Danny Torrance.

While Doctor Sleep - both the book and film - are indeed sequels to The Shining, those unfamiliar with the story shouldn't expect a retread of Jack Torrance's adventures in the Overlook Hotel, as Doctor Sleep is far from the standard formulaic follow-up. That said, the movie does feature small roles for Wendy Torrance and physically gifted Overlook chef Dick Hallorann, the latter of which famously died in Kubrick's film, but survived King's book.

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Wreck-It Ralph 2 Continues Box Office Lead; Creed 2 Defeats Rocky Balboa

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Ralph Breaks the Internet continued to lead the competition at the box office this weekend, while Creed II surpassed the domestic total of Rocky Balboa. Typically, the Thanksgiving window was jam-packed with several movies looking to make a splash over the holidays. Some of these projects, like the latest Robin Hood retelling, crashed and burned, but others had very lucrative weekends. Ralph and Creed were two sequels that outperformed their predecessors, riding waves of positive buzz and capitalizing on brand interest.

There's usually a bit of a slowdown at the multiplex between Thanksgiving and Christmas, as the first couple of weekends following Turkey Day primarily consist of lower-profile offerings that are just filling a void until the bigger holiday movies come out. That was certainly the case this weekend, and the top of the charts was dominated by the holdovers.
According to Box Office Mojo, Ralph Breaks the Internet earned $25.7 million domestically in its second weekend, a 54.2 percent decrease from its debut. The animated film is now up to $119.2 million domestically, ahead of the pace of the original (which grossed $101 million through 12 days). The other noteworthy box office development was Creed II raising its Stateside haul to $81.1 million, moving it past Rocky Balboa ($70.2 million) on the all-time franchise chart. It'll pass Rocky II shortly and then set its sights on the first Creed.

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This weekend saw only one new wide release, horror film The Possession of Hannah Grace. That movie came to theaters with very limited fan fare, so it didn't leave much of an impression at the box office. During its first three days, it earned $6.5 million, which was good enough for seventh place. Fortunately for Sony/Screen Gems, Hannah Grace sported a micro budget of $9.5 million and has already made $10.6 million worldwide. It should be able to turn a minor profit for the studio as long as it continues to do relatively well with its target audience. Since Halloween dominated the box office back in October, there haven't been many horror films out there, so fans of the genre might seek out Hannah Grace in order to get a scare.

Looking ahead to next weekend, it should be more of the same. There are no wide releases on deck, with the likes of Ben is Back, Mary Queen of Scots, and more coming out in limited. This ensures the high-profile holdovers will be able to pad their totals going into mid-December, and they'll need all the help they can get. Several of the Christmas movies are already generating substantial buzz. Into the Spider-Verse won Best Animated Film from the New York Film Critics Circle, Mary Poppins Returns has entered the Oscar conversation, and Aquaman and Bumblebee will be looking to do well commercially. Wreck-it Ralph and Adonis Creed better enjoy the lax competition while they can.

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Jason Momoa Meets His Madame Tussauds Aquaman Wax Figure

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Jason Momoa meets the Madame Tussauds wax figure based on his look for Aquaman. The actor reprises his DCEU role as half human/half Atlantean Arthur Curry, this time in the James Wan-directed flick that will serve as the character's origin story in the franchise. The events of the upcoming film take place after Steppenwolf's failed attempt to take over Earth in Justice League. Despite that, don't expect any other hero from the DCEU to pop up in the flick, as it'll mainly be a character-driven, isolated narrative.

Marking Warner Bros.' return to the superhero film arena after taking more than a year hiatus, many are looking forward to how Aquaman builds off the established lore in the DCEU. Plot specifics are being kept under wraps, as Wan promises that there's so much more in the movie than what's been seen in the trailers. The global press tour for the film is about to start, but before Momoa, his co-stars and their director jet set around the world, the actor was first able to physically see his epic new wax figure from the famed Madame Tussauds.
Fresh off the New York press conference for Aquaman, Momoa got acquainted with the life-sized statue of Arthur Curry, inspired by his look in the upcoming film. The former Game of Thrones star was obviously thrilled and impressed by the figure, which was created by Madame Tussauds in partnership with Warner Bros. Consumer Products on behalf of DC Entertainment. Check out some photos from the event below, via Momoa's Instagram.

The statue is the same one unveiled early last month at Madame Tussauds in Orlando as part of their Justice League: A Call for Heroes experience, which will become available for the public to check out starting December 7. Meanwhile, Madame Tussauds Sydney will open their iteration of the special display a few days later on December 13. Since the event's opening is just a couple of weeks before Aquaman hits theaters all over the globe, it's a good way to keep the hype train running until moviegoers can finally see Wan's contribution to the DCEU.

For what it's worth, marketing for Aquaman has been solid so far. Both Wan and Momoa have been very active on social media engaging their followers, and teasing them about the film. All trailers for the film have been well-received, and initial buzz following its red carpet premiere has been nothing but positive, giving many the impression that it will be a big hit for the DCEU.

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Once Upon A Deadpool Includes 20 Minutes of New Footage

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Once Upon a Deadpool will have 20 minutes of new content, as revealed by a brand new promo clip for the film. Everybody's favorite Merc with a Mouth played by Ryan Reynolds will be back on the big screen just in time for the holiday season with a tamed down version of Deadpool 2, so families, and especially kids, can finally see the movie. Announced shortly after the sequel's box office run was finished, the upcoming flick will be available in theaters for a special two-week run.

Despite people's excitement over Once Upon a Deadpool, the new Fox project is not without controversy. Last month, it was revealed that the idea for the film was pitched by a fan to Reynolds on Twitter in 2017. The actor has since reached out to said fan, but details of their conversation remain private. Nonetheless, it seems like everything's good between the two. With that sorted out, marketing for the new flick continues with a brand new video.
Fox (via Comic Book) has released a brand new promotional clip for Once Upon a Deadpool featuring Julian Dennison, who plays Russel Collins/Firefist in Deadpool 2. Similar to the first trailer for the special release, the video shows the Kiwi actor reading a Christmas bedtime storybook (covered with the upcoming film's official poster) providing an explanation to why the altered version of the sequel is necessary. He also revealed that it'll have "more than 20 minutes of new footage, new jokes." Watch it below:

It makes sense that Reynolds and his team would add that much new footage, considering that the original cut was gory and full of expletives. Since Once Upon a Deadpool will have a more kid-friendly rating, they would need to replace or reshoot a good chunk of the film. Parts which cannot simply be reworked to suit its brand new target audience need to be replaced by fresh content that'll suit its PG rating. As previously reported, the cast and crew shot the new material at the end of summer. So far, the trailer for the film has already given the public a tease of what to expect, which includes a parody of UP with an old couple resembling Ellie and Carl, as well as the reveal of Fred Savage following his poster debut.

Aside from Once Upon a Deadpool being a brand new way to rack up revenue for Deadpool 2, it's also a litmus test with regard to whether or not a toned down Deadpool film can actually work. Gauging people's perception of the film will be a good indicator as to how Disney and Marvel Studios can tackle the property once rights to its characters (alongside the X-Men and Fantastic Four rosters) return to Marvel. Unlike the main X-Men film saga, there's a good chance that Kevin Feige will adapt Reynolds' established lore, what remains to be seen is how it's going to be handled moving forward.

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Infinity War Cut Scene Exploring Iron Man's Civil War Conflict

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Directors Joe and Anthony Russo talk about an Avengers: Infinity War scene featuring Tony Stark/Iron Man in his home contemplating on calling Steve Rogers/Captain America. It had been two years since the events of Captain America: Civil War when Thanos and his minions attacked Earth in the hopes of retrieving two Infinity Stones - the Mind Stone which was with Vision, and the Time Stone kept by Doctor Strange. Despite putting up a gallant fight, Earth's Mightiest Heroes suffered their first real loss as they failed to foil the Mad Titan's plans of galactic genocide.

There were a lot of elements that contributed to the heroes' losing, but Stark and Rogers' split which led to the Avengers breaking up was perhaps one of the most blatant. The latter, alongside Black Widow and Falcon, operated underground, becoming the MCU's version of the Secret Avengers. Meanwhile, the former devoted the last two years by continuing to improve on his tech in case another attack on Earth took place, as well as mentoring Peter Parker/Spider-Man on the side. Scattered around the world without any form of communication left Earth at its most vulnerable state. But as it turns out, Stark had been constantly thinking of patching things up with the super soldier even before Thanos' threat became clear.
The directing duo attended a Q&A session after a special screening of Infinity War hosted by Collider where Peter Sciretta from /Film was in attendance and shared what the Russos said during the panel. Among the slew of things they talked about is a particular deleted scene shot during additional photography that features Stark in his house fidgeting Rogers' flip phone until Pepper Potts comes home. This highlights Tony's continued conflict with regard to whether or not he's ready to patch things up with his friend after he broke his trust two years after he found out that he intentionally lied to him about Bucky killing the Starks.

Early drafts of Infinity War had the two conflicting Avengers meet before the big battle against Thanos. But the Russos and writers Stephen Markus and Stephen McFeely ultimately decided against the idea, opting to save the reunion for next year's ensemble film. Not only would it have taken time away from the Mad Titan, who was clearly the main character of the movie, but it would've also cheapened the repercussions brought about by the events of Civil War. Keeping the two separated - which in turn kept the Earth's Mightiest Heroes disassembled - drove the point that the only way they can beat the intergalactic villain is if they set aside their differences and work together for a common goal.

With the imminent return of Clint Barton/Hawkeye from his retirement (and assuming his new persona as Ronin) after sitting Avengers: Infinity War out, the stage is all set for the reassembly of MCU's six original heroes. Thor has rejoined Captain America, Black Widow, and Hulk in Wakanda, and while it's still unclear how Stark will make his way back to Earth being left trapped in Titan with Nebula, he'll eventually convene with his other Avengers pals - including Rogers. Regardless on how the Russos will play out their reunion and reconciliation, it goes without saying that it will be one of the most emotional parts of Avengers 4 considering that the mission at hand is highly rumored to be the last for both heroes.

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Marvel reportedly wants to follow Black Panther’s success with Shang-Chi film
Screenwriter Dave Callaham linked to project; actors, director still being sought.

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Marvel Studios has already teased major announcements this week in the form of new Captain Marvel and Avengers 4 film trailers. But one additional piece of big Marvel news has leaked out before either of those dropped.
According to Deadline Hollywood, Marvel Studios is moving ahead with a film based on the Shang-Chi comic series, which began in the '70s and centers around a Chinese martial arts master. That report links Hollywood scribe Dave Callaham to the project as the film's writer.

Callaham's film-writing work revolves largely around action and geek-culture films, ranging from 2005's Doom film adaptation to 2010's first Expendables film. He has also written or co-written scripts for unreleased films Wonder Woman 1984, Zombieland 2, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2.

Deadline's scoop comes ahead of any other major names attached to the project—meaning, no director or actors. It includes an indication that Marvel wants to match the project with an Asian-American director, in the same way that February's Black Panther film revolved around African-American writers and directors, and to "avoid stereotypes" found in the source comic series' original issues. In 1972, white Marvel staffers Steve Englehart (writer) and Jim Starlin (artist) were tasked with making an original series that tapped into the popularity of martial arts action films—and would make up for Marvel's failure to get the comic rights to the TV series Kung-Fu.

Though the character of Shang-Chi has persisted through Marvel Comics books over the years, particularly his recruitment to the Avengers team in 2012, the character has not been formally introduced or loudly hinted to in any recent film or TV project.

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Bumblebee Will Feature His Original Voice, Provided By Dylan O'Brien

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Dylan O'Brien is voicing Bumblebee in the character's solo movie spinoff/prequel. The live-action Transformers adventure takes place in the 1980s and follows Bee as he ventures to earth to carry out a secret mission for Optimus Prime, ultimately teaming up with a teenager named Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld) along the way. Since the movie revolves around Bumblebee as a younger Autobot, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura says the film's creatives wanted Bee's voice to have a youthful quality that reflects his relative inexperience in the story.

Those who saw last year's Transformers: The Last Knight may recall that, during his climactic showdown with Optimus, Bumblebee spoke in his "real" voice for the firs time (with the film's sound designer and supervising sound editor, Erik Aadahl, providing the character's vocals). However, now that Michael Bay - who helmed the previous five live-action Transformers movies - has stepped away from the series and Kubo and the Two Strings' Travis Knight is directing Bumblebee, the film aims to partially reboot the series' mythology in the wake of Bay's departure, beginning with Bee's voice.
IGN has confirmed that O'Brien is voicing Bumblebee in the character's solo film and even has a quote from Bonaventura, explaining why it was necessary for the Transformer famous for not having a voice in the live-action franchise to finally get one:

"Since we were approaching this as an origin story, we felt that it was appropriate that you got to hear his voice. That’s the simple logic that we employed. The longer term implication of that is different. But the short-term implication of that is, since we really are resetting the mythology, essentially, of who Bumblebee is. And so, that seemed to us to be the appropriate, to get the chance to hear what he sounds like."

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Best known for his roles in the Teen Wolf TV series and The Maze Runner movie trilogy, O'Brien is trying his hand at something new with Bumblebee, in the wake of the final Maze Runner movie, The Death Cure, hitting theaters near the start of this year. During his interview with IGN, Bonaventura further explained that the actor possesses "that great quality in his voice of youthful exuberance, and also sort of trustworthiness" that he, Knight, and the film's other creatives wanted Bee to have in his '80s adventure.

It's fitting that Bee is getting a brand-new voice, seeing as Bumblebee itself (like Bonaventura said) is meant to serve as a fresh start for the Transformers movie franchise. While the film is currently projected for the lowest box office opening for a live-action Transformers movie yet, it's generating positive pre-release word of mouth and may prove to have long legs in theaters, assuming that the actual film lives up to all the initial hype. Between O'Brien voicing Bee, Steinfeld playing the human lead, and the talent behind the camera (including, writer Christina Hodson, the first woman to script a Transformers movie), Bumblebee certainly has a good deal working in its favor, quality-wise.

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Indiana Jones 5: Karen Allen Hoping To Return As Marion

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Karen Allen is hoping to return as Marion Ravenwood in the upcoming Indiana Jones 5, but she hasn't heard anything about the project yet. While Lucasfilm has spent the past several years bringing back the Star Wars franchise to the limelight, they've also been piecing together another adventure for world-famous archeologist Dr. Henry Jones, Jr. Unfortunately, that project's encountered numerous hurdles through development. Star Harrison Ford and director Steven Spielberg have been attached since the official announcement in 2016, but Indiana Jones 5's release keeps getting pushed back. It's now targeting a July 2021 premiere, meaning it'll reach theaters to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

The most recent delay was due to concerns over the script, as Solo: A Star Wars Story co-writer Jonathan Kasdan was brought in to give Indy 5 a proper rewrite. As a result, it's anyone's best guess what historical artifact Dr. Jones will pursue this time around, and which allies will be joining him for the ride. But if one franchise veteran gets her wish, Indy could be going on another quest with the love of his life.
In an interview with Cinema Blend, Allen discussed her potential involvement with Indiana Jones 5, admitting she hasn't been contacted by Lucasfilm about it. She chalked that up to the fact the studio's still figuring out the narrative in an attempt to make the sequel as strong as it can be:

"I'm patiently waiting, no they haven't [called]. I'm very much hoping that I will be a part of it and I think, from my understanding, they are creatively working away on a script that they will be happy enough with. They don't want to rush into it If they're going to do this they want it to be wonderful."

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Allen, of course, first appeared as Marion in Raiders, where she won the hearts of viewers (and Dr. Jones) with her feisty tenacity. But, in keeping with the Indiana Jones films' James Bond influences, the next two installments gave the daring hero a new romanic interest, and Marion wasn't even mentioned. Allen came back for 2008's Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which ended with Marion and Indy tying the knot. With that in mind, it'll be interesting to see how the fifth movie handles her. Of course, if there's a natural place for Marion in the story, the filmmakers and fans would enjoy seeing her return. There's no denying Marion has a great dynamic with Indiana, with Allen and Ford's chemistry lighting up the screen for several memorable scenes.

At the same time, it's far from a guarantee the new movie includes Indiana's family. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull had the rather infamous inclusion of Shia LaBeouf as Indy and Marion's son Mutt, and based on comments by the actor himself and former Indy 5 writer David Koepp, that character will be absent from the forthcoming sequel. What that means for Marion remains to be seen, but it's a distinct possibility Lucasfilm tries to minimize any direct connections to Crystal Skull and have Indiana Jones 5 operate more as a standalone adventure to send Ford off on a high note. If that's the case, hopefully Marion and Mutt's absence is explained in some dialogue.