In a recent interview with The Sun (via The Hollywood Reporter), Steven Spielberg suggested that he’d be open to a future Indiana Jones star being a woman, noting that they’d “have to change the name from Jones to Joan” and that there’s “nothing wrong with that” (other than the fact that last names don’t work that way). Spielberg also acknowledged that the upcoming Indiana Jones 5—which we want him to know he doesn’t have to make—will be the last one with Harrison Ford. That being said, Spielberg is “pretty sure” the series will go on without its original star.
Assuming he does eventually move forward with this “Indiana Joan” idea, then, who should get the call? It’s a big job, and throwing it at another person who isn’t up to the task will just give us a gender-swapped Mutt Williams, but that’s for Lucasfilm and (now Disney) to worry about. If Disney is reading this, though, we’d like to specifically disqualify Jennifer Lawrence, as she’s sort of the “Chris Pratt” option here. She could do it and she’d probably be great, but she’s also very obvious.
Speaking of obvious, Daisy Ridley could probably do just fine, and it would be a nice parallel to Ford’s own career by having a new Star Wars hero also swinging the whip around. However, it would kind of detract from Star Wars, because Ridley—unlike Ford—is really the main character this time around. They probably wouldn’t go wrong with someone like Evan Rachel Wood, Emily Blunt, or Brie Larson, as they’ve all done some cool action roles lately, but they’d also have to prove that they’re good at firing off a fun quip.
Given the parameters of “not-obvious,” “good at action,” and “good at quips,” though, we’ve settled on what we think is a solid pick: Thor: Ragnarok’s Tessa Thompson. She was great at both quips and action in that movie, and as someone who has been pushing for Marvel to do an all-women team-up movie, Disney might be able to keep her happy by giving her Indiana Jones while Marvel Studios drags its feet.
Now we just need to decide who would play the female Marcus Brody.