Which invites speculation that Disney now will produce and distribute a fifth Indiana Jones film. After all, there's no value to buying the rights to distribute a movie that no one's going to make.
With Disney almost certain to at least be pursuing a fifth Indiana Jones film, theme park fans ought to be excused for wondering what Disney's long-term plan for the franchise might be. When Disney bought Lucasfilm, which counts Star Wars and Indiana Jones among its properties, the company quickly began work on a new Star Wars-themed land for Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World and a new Star Wars overlay for at least part of Disneyland's Tomorrowland. With new Indiana Jones movies on the horizon, might Disney also increase its investment in Indy as a theme park franchise?
Certain Disney World fans long have desired their own version of Disneyland's Indiana Jones ride, wanting more of a presence for the franchise than the stunt show now playing at DHS. But Disney World already has the Indiana Jones ride. Sort of. The Dinosaur ride at Disney's Animal Kingdom uses the same ride system and track layout as Disneyland's Indiana Jones Adventure.
Disney's 2000 Dinosaur movie didn't launch an enduring franchise. Heck, Don Bluth had more luck with The Land Before Time franchise in attracting kids with animated dinosaurs. For grown-ups, Universal's locked up the market with the Jurassic Park franchise. If Disney wants to increase the theme park presence of Indiana Jones, it might get the most return on its investment by giving up on dinosaurs and retheming the Dinosaur ride into an east-coast version of the Indiana Jones Adventure. Disney could complete the transformation of Dinoland USA into an Indiana Jones land by removing the troublesome Primeval Whirl roller coaster and replacing it with the Indiana Jones et le Temple du Peril/Raging Spirits coaster now found at Disneyland Paris and Tokyo DisneySea. It's not an especially popular coaster, but it's a fun ride that would give Disney a second looping coaster at the Walt Disney World Resort. Heck, Disney could lift much of the design for DisneySea's Lost River Delta to create an Indiana Jones land at Animal Kingdom.
Of course, Indy's an archeologist, not a paleontologist. But Disney already blew up the park's theme with the announced addition of an Avatar-themed land. Indiana Jones at least would provide a second powerhouse franchise to help make Animal Kingdom an even more popular destination for theme park fans.
What would you like to see the Walt Disney Company do with the Indiana Jones franchise in its theme parks?
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I would love to see the Indiana Jones ride in Florida because it's awesome and it's easier for us to get there. However, it would be more interesting to have something new. The Indiana Jones coaster in Paris is lame and dull. However, I would take it over Primeval Whirl.
I hate the Indy coaster at Paris. It's extremely short, uncomfortable and looks better then it rides. I think the exploration from the Indy movies would translate to the exotic destinations in AK but the way they portray animals in the movies are not a good fit to AK. I rather see an original explorer like the one from Mystic Manor get a whole land in AK showing of his house but also his hangar where we can go in his airship visiting the natural beauty of planet earth and his glasshouse and butterfly garden.
Please Disney leave Indy alone. I have fond memories about the first 3 movies. That memory is tainted by the 4th turd of a movie and we don't need a 5th one. Harrison Ford has become to old to play the role and the transition to his son was a huge mistake.
This would be the best way to slowly introduce and get a new indy to the fans with out leaving out the Harrison ford fans
Of course this means they would have to do the next two movies pretty much back to back and soon
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Additionally, the idea of Avatar in AK has really grown on me. The theme of the movie was environmental conservation and preservation, a core facet of AK. The lush terrain also is a perfect match. Plus fictional animals were always a part of the plan, although they tended to lean towards mythical, rather than creatures so specific. I do feel like fictional animals that have more of a history (dragons, unicorns, etc.) would be more appropriate and better suited for the long run. A fantastical land could incorporate attractions from numerous existing and new movies quite easily, and if the avatar fever dies the whole land won't need to be replaced.