Spielberg Blames Lucas for 'Indy 4' Lameness, Says Fifth Film May Happen

While just about everyone had something critical to say about the fourth Indiana Jones movie "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," according to Steven Spielberg, it's entirely possible that he and George Lucas will collaborate yet again for a fifth Indy film.

Spielberg told Empire Magazine that Lucas is getting started on a new sequel to the popular action franchise.

"He is working on Indy V. We haven't gone to screenplay yet, but he's working on the story. I'll leave it to George to come up with a good story."

In the same interview, though, Spielberg made a few statements that sure sound like he's blaming Lucas for the failure of the fourth one. While he said he was "very happy with the movie," he deflected criticism about some of the movie's weaker elements to his collaborator.

"George and I had big arguments about the MacGuffin. I didn't want these things to be either aliens or inter-dimensional beings. But I am loyal to my best friend. When he writes a story he believes in -- even if I don't believe in it -- I'm going to shoot the movie the way George envisaged it. I'll add my own touches, I'll bring my own cast in, I'll shoot the way I want to shoot it, but I will always defer to George as the storyteller of the Indy series. I will never fight him on that."

So Lucas was to blame for those lame aliens? So we should blame him for the schlockiest film in the franchise's storied history? not so fast. Spielberg couldn't throw Lucas under the bus without taking credit for what was arguably the worst idea to ever grace the screen of any "Indiana Jones" movie.

"What people really jumped at was Indy climbing into a refrigerator and getting blown into the sky by an atom-bomb blast. Blame me. Don't blame George. That was my silly idea. People stopped saying 'jump the shark.' They now say, 'nuked the fridge.' I'm proud of that. I'm glad I was able to bring that into popular culture."

Honestly, it sounds like both highly imaginative cinema legends lost a little steam on the last Indy film. Perhaps it's time to let the franchise die an honorable death before any more aliens or refrigerators get hurt?

And let's not forget Harrison Ford. After his last supposed blockbuster "Aliens vs. Cowboys" couldn't even beat "The Smurfs" out of the starting gate, the last thing he needs is another dud version of the signature film series to go befouling his well-deserved acting legacy.

Watch Indiana Jones "nuke the fridge":