Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg resisted George Lucas's plan to include aliens in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." The creative clash was detailed in a recent oral history of Spielberg.
Producer Kathleen Kennedy recalled that Ford and Spielberg "didn’t want to do a ‘Raiders’ movie that involved aliens" and fought with Lucas over the idea.
Lucas had aimed for a "War of the Worlds" approach tied to 1950s flying saucers. Both stars refused another science-fiction film, leading to multiple script drafts.
The team compromised by making the beings from another dimension instead. Kennedy said the pair "were not 100 percent on board," which contributed to the 2008 film being viewed as the weakest in the series directed by Spielberg.
Ford later committed strongly to 2023's "Dial of Destiny" to avoid ending the franchise on that note. The earlier movie grossed $786 million worldwide despite mixed reviews.
