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Obsession Director Curry Barker Wants to Make a ‘F**ked Up, R-Rated’ Indiana Jones Movie
Horror director Curry Barker says he would like to make an R-rated Indiana Jones film if the opportunity arose, imagining a darker, more intense adventure than the series’ family-friendly outings. He and longtime collaborator Cooper Tomlinson are interested in pushing the adventure genre’s boundaries while keeping its characters and story grounded.
Tomlinson has also spoken about reviving the adventure epics popular in the 1980s and 1990s. Meanwhile, Michael Johnston, who played Bear in Barker’s film Obsession, has joined the cast of The Mummy: Book of the Dead, starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz; it is scheduled for release on 15 October 2027. Barker’s horror-comedy Anything But Ghosts is due in May next year.
In short
- Curry Barker wants to make a darker, R-rated Indiana Jones adventure.
- He and Cooper Tomlinson favour grounded stories with bold action.
- Michael Johnston’s next Mummy film is scheduled for October 2027.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
An R-rated Indiana Jones film could let its creators explore the peril and moral complexity of adventure with greater intensity, while giving audiences a fresh take on a familiar character. If the story and characters remain grounded, a darker tone might revive the adventurous spirit of earlier epics without simply repeating them.
The case against
Indiana Jones has long been a broadly accessible adventure series, and an R-rated instalment could narrow its audience or make graphic violence feel at odds with its established appeal. A darker approach may also sacrifice the escapism and sense of fun that many viewers value, without necessarily producing a stronger story.
Explained simply
Indiana Jones is an adventurer and archaeologist at the centre of a film series that began with Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981. The films combine action, historical mysteries and humour, and have generally been made for a broad, family audience.
Curry Barker is a horror director, and Cooper Tomlinson is his longtime creative collaborator. Their interest in a more adult take on an adventure film reflects wider discussion about reviving the large-scale adventure stories popular in the 1980s and 1990s. Indiana Jones is a fictional character whose films are controlled by their rights holders, so any new version would depend on those companies’ plans.