Kathleen Kennedy Throws George Lucas Under The Bus Over Indiana Jones
Kennedy Claims Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg Didn't Want Indiana Jones with aliens
Kathleen Kennedy has barely been gone from Lucasfilm, and already she is sort of throwing George Lucas under the bus regarding Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."
In a recent interview about Steven Spielberg, Vulture talked to Kathleen Kennedy, George Lucas, and others about the Crystal Skull film.
During the interview, she said,
“Crystal Skull was a tough production for Janusz [Kamiński]. Steven was struggling with that movie. Harrison was struggling with the movie. They didn’t want to do a Raiders movie that involved aliens, and they kind of got into a fight with George about it.”
Then she completely throws Lucas under the bus saying Crystal Skull was the “weakest”
“They ended up all of them doing what George wanted to do, which was probably the right thing. But Harrison and Steven were not 100 percent onboard. That’s why the movie, out of the four that Steven made, is the weakest. And that’s why Harrison was so deeply committed to Destiny. He didn’t want that to be the end.”
Indiana Jones with aliens was very confusing for audiences. Given how much Kennedy damaged Star Wars, Willow, and Indiana Jones, as head of Lucasfilm, she really shouldn’t be throwing stones.
Was Indiana Jones and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull the “weakest” film?
It depends on the metrics used for “weakest”
Audiences were confused by aliens in Indiana Jones, but it still performed very well.
If we look at the box office numbers Crystal Skull wasn’t the weakest.
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark made $354 million in 1981, which would be $1.3 billion today, adjusted for inflation.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom made $333.1 million in 1984, which would be about $1.1 billion today when adjusted for inflation.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade made $474.1 million in 1989. That would be $1.28 billion in 2026.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull made $768.6 million in 2008. Adjusted for inflation, that total would be over $1.2 billion today.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny made about $384 million in 2023. Adjusted for inflation, it would be $422.3 million now.
By these numbers, Crystal Skull would be in third place out of the five films based on adjusted box office. Or number one solely based on an unadjusted number. Making Dial of Destiny the weakest by far.
If we look at Rotten Tomatoes audience scores, we see a different picture.
Going by Critical and Audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes, a different level of “success” emerges.
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark has a Critical Score of 94 and an Audience Score of 96.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom has a Critical Score of 77 and an Audience Score of 82.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade has a Critical Score of 84 and an Audience Score of 94.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has a Critical Score of 77 and an Audience Score of 53.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny has a Critical Score of 71 and an Audience Score of 87.
This means that by Critical Score, Crystal Skull is tied with Temple of Doom in 3rd place, and Dial of Destiny is the worst at 71. Audience Scores paint a different picture, with Crystal Skull being in last place by far.
Kathleen Kennedy saying it was the “weakest” film depends on which factors you are considering. Of the three factors covered (box office, Critical Scores, and Audience Scores), Crystal Skull bests Kennedy’s Dial of Destiny in two out of three.
That being said, I do think the Crystal Skull film was the weakest because aliens didn’t seem to belong in Indiana Jones. Had they not gone that route, I think the film would have been much more successful.
However, Dial of Destiny was dead on arrival as audiences rejected the new film. It only pulled 1980s numbers because fans would have rather watched Indiana Jones with aliens over an old, bitter Doctor Jones who lost his son and wife.
Kennedy really has no business pointing out the weakness in other films when she led Lucasfilm during the destruction of all three core IP franchises.
A new Star Wars film is barely over $315 million after four weeks at the box office.
The Willow sequel did so poorly on Disney+ it was yanked down within six months of release.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny made about half the total Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull did, and that movie came out 15 years later!
I don’t know if Kennedy was trying to make herself feel better or superior, but she really has no reason to say anything about Crystal Skull being the “weakest” after her performance as the head of Lucasfilm.
I bet George Lucas is happy to be clear of Disney’s Lucasfilm blunders.