New 'Indy' Vexed Film Legends

It seems like a sure thing: Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, in on 13 of the 100 highest-grossing movies ever, revive the billion-dollar Indiana Jones franchise. But Lucas spent 15 years trying to convince Spielberg and Harrison Ford to do Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, due out May 22. Why the discord? It all came down to what Hollywood calls a MacGuffin, Vanity Fair reports.

That's film lingo for the thing that characters in a flick are after—like the lost ark. "The Ark of the Covenant was perfect," Lucas said. But after struggling to drum up new MacGuffins for two Indy sequels, "I was like, No more of these, baby. We’re done." Then one came to him, and a script by Spider-Man scribe David Koepp finally convinced Spielberg and Ford to sign on. Spoiler alert: Fans should think more 1950s sci-fi than 1930s action serial. (More Indiana Jones stories.)