Indy 4 date?

UPDATE from Spielbergfilms.com — the release date is official, and it’s a WORLDWIDE release on that day. And I still think LAST CRUSADE kinda stinks.

For years, there has been a constant whirlwind of speculation regarding a fourth INDIANA JONES movie. But now that Spielberg has time on his docket, Harrison Ford desperately needs a sure thing and George Lucas is apparently satisfied with the script (a terrifying prospect), the gigantic round boulder is finally starting to roll on the aging archaeologist’s next adventure.

Rumor has it the movie will start shooting in June, and if Box Office Mojo is to be believed (and let’s face it, they know their numbers), Paramount Pictures has slotted INDIANA JONES AND THE CREAKY FRANCHISE for Thursday, May 22, 2008. That month is also currently looking at IRON MAN and PRINCE CASPIAN for major releases.

Personally, I’d prefer the character hung up the whip and fedora after the banal rubbish in LAST CRUSADE (substandard villains, the supporting cast reduced to doddering comic relief, the way Indy acquired all his personality quirks during one single incident when he was River Phoenix, etc.). Unless the new movie features an adult Short Round (and his crew of beautiful female kung fu assassins) seeking revenge against Indy for leaving him for dead or some other treasure related transgression, I remain blithely disinterested.