The Return of YOUNG INDY JONES? Oh River Pheonix....

Hey guys, it's Donnie... A software developer contacted the good folks at Ain't It Cool to let them know that they'll be developing some Young Indy Jones learning games (set from 1916-1919) for LucasArts that are intended to coincide with a Young Indy Jones movie to be released in 2007.

Now, what does that actually mean?

Well it could be a couple of things. Indy 4 has been trapped in development hell seemingly forever, with a revolving door full of writers circulating around the project over the past few years. Presently, no one is really sure where exactly the project stands. So perhaps the software folks were misinformed and these games will be supporting Indy 4 in 2007, which would mean that production would have to gear up fairly soon.

Perhaps the software guys got it right and the Indy 4 plans have been scrapped in favor of restarting the franchise as a set of Young Indy adventures. The success of Batman Begins certainly sets a great precedent, and Harrison Ford certainly ain't no spring chicken no more, so maybe Lucas and Spielberg decided that no one wants to see The Geriatric Adventures of Indiana Jones.

Or perhaps it's a little of both. Maybe Indy 4 is going to heavily rely on flashbacks of Indy's youth, so it's part Young Indy and part Old Indy. Hell, maybe Lucas is just getting nostalgic and wants to do a Direct To DVD release. Who knows? All that matters is there's a new morsel of Indy-rumor food for people to chew up and probably spit out in fanboy dissatisfaction.

All told, Lucas is one of the most secretive bastards in the industry, and I find it hard to believe that he would casually let slip major franchise news to some software company to which he's farming out programming work. Then again, if LucasArts has already begun doling out game development work, it could mean that a significant Indy announcement is forthcoming. Stay tuned...