Jeb Stuart, Jeffrey Boam, Frank Darabont, Lucas, and Nathanson wrote drafts before Koepp's script satisfied the producers. The filmmakers intended to pay tribute to the science fiction B movies in the 1950s. Shooting began on June 18, 2007, at various locations in New Mexico, New Haven, Connecticut, Hawaii, and Fresno, California, as well as on sound stages in Los Angeles. To maintain aesthetic continuity with the previous films, the crew relied on traditional stunt work instead of computer-generated stunt doubles, and cinematographer Janusz Kamiński studied Douglas Slocombe's style from the previous films.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull had its premiere at the 61st Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2008, and was released in the United States on May 22, by Paramount Pictures. It received generally positive reviews from critics but mixed responses from audiences. The film was also a financial success, grossing over $790 million worldwide which makes it the franchise's highest-grossing film (when not adjusted for inflation) as well as the second-highest-grossing film of 2008.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is the last film in the Indiana Jones franchise to be distributed by Paramount, as the Walt Disney Studios acquired rights to future films following the parent company's acquisition of Lucasfilm in October 2012, with Paramount still retaining the rights to the original four films and receiving "financial participation" from any additional properties. It is also the last film in the series for which Spielberg and Lucas are credited with the direction and story, respectively. A sequel concluding the saga, titled Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, was released in June 2023.^[4]

Plot[edit]

In 1957, Soviet agents led by Colonel Doctor Irina Spalko kidnap American archeologist Indiana Jones and his partner George "Mac" McHale. They infiltrate Hangar 51 in Nevada and use Jones to locate a mummified alien from the Roswell incident. Jones locates the mummy before being double-crossed by Mac, but escapes to a nearby model town at the Nevada Test Site, minutes before an atomic bomb test. He survives the blast in a lead-lined refrigerator in one of the town's mock houses before being rescued and interrogated by the FBI.

Returning to Marshall College, Jones discovers he has been placed on an indefinite leave of absence. Mutt Williams, a young greaser, approaches Jones and informs him that his former colleague, Harold "Ox" Oxley, found a crystal skull in Peru in search of the mythical city Akator. Soviet agents attempt to capture them, but the two escape and travel to Peru. There, they find carvings made by Ox which lead the pair to the grave of Francisco de Orellana, which contains an elongated crystal skull. Leaving the grave, the two are captured by the Soviets and taken to a camp in the Amazon rainforest. They are reunited with Mac, Spalko, an addled Ox, and Mutt's mother, Marion Ravenwood, who informs Jones that Mutt is his son.

Spalko tells Jones that the skulls are alien in origin and intends to use them to project Soviet propaganda into the minds of Americans. Jones has a brief telepathic connection to the skull, which commands him to return it to Akator. Jones realizes that Ox is attempting to communicate through automatic writing, discovering a route to the city. While en route to Akator, Jones retakes the skull from the Soviets and escapes from them alongside Marion, Ox, Mutt and Mac, who claims to be a double agent. Jones and his companions locate a rock formation which leads them to Akator, evading the city's guardians and reaching a large temple. There, they learn that the skull belonged to one of thirteen aliens whom the early Ugha tribes worshipped as deities. The Soviets, following transceivers planted by Mac, arrive; Spalko takes the skull and places it onto the one headless skeleton.

The skeleton awakens and telepathically offers a reward to Spalko, who wishes to become omniscient. As an interdimensional portal opens above the chamber, abducting Mac and Spalko’s remaining soldiers, the skeletons combine into a reanimated alien, which transfers an overwhelming amount of knowledge into Spalko's mind, killing her. Jones, Ox, Marion and Mutt escape the crumbling city as a flying saucer rises from the ruins and departs for another dimension. As Ox regains his sanity, Jones and his party return to the United States where he is reinstated at Marshall College and promoted to associate dean. He and Marion marry.

as Indiana Jones; To prepare for the role, the 64-year-old Ford spent three hours a day at a gym, practiced with the bullwhip for two weeks,^[5] and relied on a high-protein diet of fish and vegetables.^[6] Ford had kept fit during the series' hiatus anyway, as he hoped for another film.^[7] He performed many of his own stunts because stunt technology had become safer since 1989, and he also felt it improved his performance.^[8] Ford felt his return would also help American culture be less paranoid about aging (he refused to dye his hair for the role), because of the film's family appeal: "This is a movie which is geared not to [the young] segment of the demographic, an age-defined segment [...] We've got a great shot at breaking the movie demographic constraints."^[8] He told Koepp to add more references to his age in the script.^[9] Spielberg said Ford was not too old to play Indiana: "When a guy gets to be that age and he still packs the same punch, and he still runs just as fast and climbs just as high, he's gonna be breathing a little heavier at the end of the set piece. And I felt, 'Let's have some fun with that. Let's not hide that.'"^[10] Spielberg recalled the line in Raiders, "It's not the years, it's the mileage,"^[10] and felt he could not tell the difference between Ford during the shoots for The Last Crusade and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.^[11]

Harrison Ford

as Irina Spalko, a villainous Soviet agent. Screenwriter David Koepp created the character.^[9] Frank Marshall said Irina continued the tradition of Indiana having a love-hate relationship "with every woman he ever comes in contact with".^[12] Blanchett had wanted to play a villain for a "couple of years", and enjoyed being part of the Indiana Jones legacy as she loved the previous films.^[13] Spielberg praised Blanchett as a "master of disguise", and considers her his favorite Indiana Jones villain for coming up with much of Irina's characteristics.^[10] Irina's bob cut was her idea, with the character's stern looks and behavior recalling Rosa Klebb in From Russia with Love.^[14] Blanchett learned to fence for the character, but during filming, Spielberg decided to give Irina "karate chop" skills.^[15] LaBeouf recalled Blanchett was elusive on set, and Ford was surprised when he met her on set outside of costume. He noted, "There's no aspect of her behavior that was not consistent with this bizarre person she's playing."^[8]

Cate Blanchett

as Marion Ravenwood (under the married name of Marion Williams). Frank Darabont's script introduced the idea of Marion Ravenwood returning as Indy's love interest.^[16] Allen was not aware her character was in the script until Spielberg called her in January 2007, saying, "It's been announced! We're gonna make Indiana Jones 4! And guess what? You're in it!"^[17] Ford found Allen "one of the easiest people to work with [he's] ever known. She's a completely self-sufficient woman, and that's part of the character she plays. A lot of her charm and the charm of the character is there. And again, it's not an age-dependent thing. It has to do with her spirit and her nature."^[8] Allen found Ford easier to work with on this film, in contrast to the first film, where she slowly befriended the private actor.^[18]

Karen Allen

as George "Mac" McHale, a British agent whom Indy worked alongside in World War II, but has now allied with the Russians due to his financial problems. The character acts as a spin on Sallah and René Belloq – Indy's friend and nemesis, respectively, in Raiders of the Lost Ark.^[19] Spielberg cast Winstone as he found him "one of the most brilliant actors around", having seen Sexy Beast.^[15] Winstone tore his hamstring during filming. "I keep getting these action parts as I'm getting older," he remarked.^[20] Like John Hurt, Winstone wished to see the script prior to committing to the film. In interviews on British TV^[21] Winstone explained that he was only able to read the script if it was delivered by courier, who waited while he read the script, and returned to the US with the script once Winstone had read it. His reasoning for wanting to read the script was, "If I'm gonna be in it, I want to be in it." He gave suggestions to Spielberg, including the idea of Mac pretending to be a double agent.^[22] He also stated that once filming was completed he had to return the script, such was the secrecy about the film. He was later presented with a copy of the script to keep.^[23]

Ray Winstone

as Harold 'Ox' Oxley, Mutt's surrogate father and an old friend of Indiana, whom he lost contact with in 1937. Six months prior to the events of the film, he went insane after discovering the crystal skull, which commanded him to return it to Akator. Frank Darabont had suggested Hurt when he was writing the screenplay.^[24] The character is inspired by Ben Gunn from Treasure Island.^[15] Hurt wanted to read the script before signing on, unlike other cast members who came on "because Steven—you know, 'God'—was doing it. And I said, 'Well, I need to have a little bit of previous knowledge even if God is doing it.' So they sent a courier over with the script from Los Angeles, gave it to me at three o'clock in the afternoon in London, collected it again at eight o'clock in the evening, and he returned the next day to Los Angeles."^[25]

John Hurt

as Dean Charlie Stanforth, Dean of Marshall College and friend of Indy. Broadbent's character stands in for Marcus Brody, as actor Denholm Elliott had died in 1992.^[15] As a tribute to Elliott, the filmmakers put a portrait and a statue on the Marshall College location, and a picture on Indy's desk, saying he died shortly after Henry.

Jim Broadbent

as Mutt Williams/Henry Jones III, a young, motorcycle-riding greaser and Indy's sidekick and son. The concept of Indiana Jones having offspring was introduced in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, in which Old Indy is shown to have a daughter.^[26] During development of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, this idea was incorporated into Frank Darabont's script, with Indiana and Marion having a 13-year-old daughter. However, Spielberg found this too similar to The Lost World: Jurassic Park,^[16] so a son was created instead.^[27] Koepp credited the character's creation to Jeff Nathanson and Lucas.^[9] Koepp wanted to make Mutt into a nerd, but Lucas refused, explaining he had to resemble Marlon Brando in The Wild One; "he needs to be what Indiana Jones's father thought of [him]—the curse returns in the form of his own son—he's everything a father can't stand".^[16] LaBeouf was Spielberg's first choice for the role, having been impressed by his performance in Holes.^[5] Excited at the prospect of being in an Indiana Jones film, LaBeouf signed on without reading the script and did not know what character he would play.^[28] He worked out and gained 15 pounds (7 kg) of muscle for the role,^[29] and also repeatedly watched the other films to get into character.^[30] LaBeouf also watched Blackboard Jungle, Rebel Without a Cause and The Wild One to get into his character's mindset,^[5] copying mannerisms and words from characters in those films, such as the use of a switchblade as a weapon.^[31] Lucas also consulted on the greaser look, joking that LaBeouf was "sent to the American Graffiti school of greaserland".^[10] LaBeouf pulled his rotator cuff when filming his duel with Spalko, which was his first injury in his career, an injury which worsened throughout filming. He later pulled his groin.^[32]

Shia LaBeouf

Additionally, Igor Jijikine portrays Russian Colonel Antonin Dovchenko, Spalko's second-in-command. His character stands in for the heavily built henchmen that Pat Roach played in the three previous films, as Roach died in 2004 from throat cancer.^[15] Joel Stoffer and Neil Flynn have minor roles as FBI agents Taylor and Paul Smith interrogating Indiana in a scene following the opening sequence. Alan Dale plays General Ross, who protests Indiana's innocence. Andrew Divoff and Pasha D. Lychnikoff play Soviet agents Grant and Roosevelt, respectively. Spielberg cast Russian-speaking actors so their accents would be authentic.^[11] Ilia Volok and Dimitri Diatchenko play Russian Suit and Spalko's right-hand man Dimitri who battle Indiana at Marshall College. Diatchenko bulked up to 250 pounds to look menacing, and his role was originally minor with 10 days of filming. When shooting the fight, Ford accidentally hit his chin, and Spielberg liked Diatchenko's humorous looking reaction, so he expanded his role to three months of filming.^[33] Ernie Reyes Jr. plays a cemetery guard. Chet Hanks plays Student in Library.

Sean Connery turned down an offer to cameo as Henry Jones, Sr., as he found retirement too enjoyable.^[34] Lucas stated that in hindsight it was good that Connery did not briefly appear, as it would disappoint the audience when his character would not join the film's adventure.^[35] Ford joked, "I'm old enough to play my own father in this one."^[8] Connery later admitted that his true reason for turning the part down was that it was too small, stating: "It was not that generous a part, worth getting back into the harness and go for. And they had taken the story in a different line anyway, so the father of Indy was kind of really not that important. I had suggested they kill him in the movie, it would have taken care of it better."^[36] The film addresses Connery's absence by Indiana implying that both Henry, Sr. and Marcus Brody (played in the previous films by Denholm Elliott, who died in 1992) died before the film's events, and briefly shows Connery as Henry Jones Sr. in a picture in Indiana Jones's office.^[37] Connery later stated that he liked the film, praising it as "rather good" but also "rather long."^[38] Michael Sheard, who portrayed Adolf Hitler in the third film, expressed interest in appearing in the film, but he died in August 2005.^[39]

John Rhys-Davies was asked to reprise his role as Sallah as a guest in the wedding scene. He turned it down as he felt his character deserved a more substantial role.^[40]

Production[edit]

Development[edit]

In 1979, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg made a deal with Paramount Pictures for five Indiana Jones films.^[41] Following the 1989 release of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Lucas let the series end as he felt he could not think of a good plot device to drive the next installment. He chose instead to produce the prequel television series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.^[16] The following year, Harrison Ford would express his feelings that, while he was uncertain on if the Indiana Jones character had been fully explored or not, he had the impression that Last Crusade would be the final Indiana Jones film and that, as much he enjoyed playing Jones, he felt that a trilogy was enough, though he wouldn't rule out working with Lucas and Spielberg again.^[42] Comic book writer Lee Marrs claimed in a 2023 interview with the IndyCast podcast that Lucasfilm Ltd. was considering to make a continuation to the film series by bringing River Phoenix back as a younger Indy, hence why Dark Horse Comics hoped to keep running their Indiana Jones comic book line, though Phoenix's death in 1993 put an end to such possibility.^[43]

As Young Indy aired, Ford played Jones in one episode, narrating his adventures in 1920 Chicago from 1950 Wyoming. When Lucas shot Ford's role in December 1992, he realized the scene opened up the possibility of a film with an older Indiana set in the 1950s. The film could reflect a science fiction 1950s B-movie, with aliens as the plot device.^[16] Just like how the 1930s Saturday matinée serials inspired the first three Indiana Jones films as well as Star Wars, Lucas felt that B-movies such as The Thing from Another World (1951), It Came from Outer Space (1953) and Them! (1954) could give them a whole new film genre to play with and add a new texture to the story, giving him the idea of using extraterrestrials.^[44] Meanwhile, Spielberg believed he was going to mature as a filmmaker after making the trilogy and felt his role in any future installments would be relegated to that of mere producer.^[27] Ford told Lucas, "No way am I being in a Steven Spielberg movie like that."^[17] Spielberg himself, who depicted aliens in Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), resisted it.^[16]

Perceiving that Ford and Spielberg opined that the film was too much an obvious Lucas-Spielbergian idea, Lucas personally felt that Ford and Spielberg didn't fully understand the franchise's malleability; instead of doing the exact same movie all the time, all they had to do was to test different genres with each installment and it wouldn't stop being an adventure of the title character looking after some artifact as long it were a believable MacGuffin with an archaeological or historical background.^[44] He came up with a story, which Jeb Stuart turned into a script from October 1993 to May 1994.^[16] (Stuart had previously written 1993's The Fugitive, which starred Ford.) Lucas wanted Indiana to get married, which would allow Henry Jones, Sr. to return, expressing concern over whether his son is happy with what he has accomplished. After he learned that Joseph Stalin was interested in psychic warfare, he decided to have Soviets as the villains and the aliens to have psychic powers.^[45] Following Stuart's next draft, Lucas hired Last Crusade writer Jeffrey Boam to write the next three versions, the last of which was completed in March 1996. Three months later, Independence Day was released, and Spielberg told Lucas he would not make another alien invasion film. Lucas decided to focus on the Star Wars prequels.^[16]

In a 2000 interview, Spielberg said that his children constantly asked when he would make the next Indiana Jones film, and that the project would soon be revived.^[46] The same year, Ford, Lucas, Spielberg, Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy met during the American Film Institute's tribute to Ford, and decided they wanted to enjoy the experience of making an Indiana Jones film again. Spielberg also found returning to the series a respite from his many dark films during this period, such as A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), Minority Report (2002), and Munich (2005).^[18] Lucas convinced Spielberg to use aliens in the plot by saying they were not "extraterrestrials", but "interdimensional", with this concept taking inspiration in the superstring theory.^[27] Spielberg and Lucas discussed the central idea of a B-movie involving aliens, and Lucas suggested using the crystal skulls to ground the idea. Lucas found those artifacts as fascinating as the Ark of the Covenant,^[47] and had intended to feature them for a Young Indiana Jones episode before the show's cancellation.^[16] M. Night Shyamalan was hired to write for an intended 2002 shoot,^[46] but he was overwhelmed writing a sequel to a film he loved like Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), and claimed it was difficult to get Ford, Spielberg and Lucas to focus.^[48] Stephen Gaghan and Tom Stoppard were also approached.^[46]

Frank Darabont, who wrote various Young Indiana Jones episodes, was hired to write in May 2002.^[49] His script, entitled Indiana Jones and the City of Gods,^[16] was set in the 1950s, with ex-Nazis pursuing Jones.^[50] Spielberg conceived the idea because of real life figures such as Juan Perón in Argentina, who protected Nazi war criminals.^[16] Darabont claimed Spielberg loved the script, but Lucas had issues with it, and decided to take over writing himself.^[16] Lucas and Spielberg acknowledged the 1950s setting could not ignore the Cold War, and the Soviets were more plausible villains. Spielberg decided he could not satirize the Nazis after directing Schindler's List (1993),^[10] while Ford noted, "We plum[b] wore the Nazis out."^[17]

Jeff Nathanson met with Spielberg and Lucas in August 2004 and turned in the next drafts in October and November 2005, titled The Atomic Ants. David Koepp continued on from there, giving his script the subtitle Destroyer of Worlds,^[16] based on the J. Robert Oppenheimer quote. It was changed to Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, as Spielberg found it more inviting a title and actually named the plot device of the crystal skulls. Lucas insisted on the Kingdom part.^[51] Koepp's "bright [title] idea" was Indiana Jones and the Son of Indiana Jones, and Spielberg had also considered having the title name the aliens as The Mysterians (1957), but dropped that when he remembered that was another film's title.^[27] Koepp collaborated with Raiders of the Lost Ark screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan on the film's "love dialogue."^[9]

Crystal skulls in popular culture

List of films featuring extraterrestrials

Chitwood, Adam (February 12, 2019). . Collider.

"The Long Development History of 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull', Explained"

Rinzler, J.W.; Bouzereau, Laurent (2008). The Complete Making of Indiana Jones. Random House. 978-0-09-192661-8.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull