George Lucas has given the greenlight to Jeff Nathanson's recent draft for INDIANA JONES 4, reports VARIETY. Director Steven Spielberg has also given the script a thumbs up and only star Harrison Ford needs to give approval for the film to move into pre-production.
SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION director Frank Darabont had previously written a draft of the script, which passed by Spielberg and Ford, but was rejected by Lucas. Spielberg then enlisted Nathanson to pen the screenplay after having worked with the scribe on CATCH ME IF YOU CAN and THE TERMINAL.
The tricky part about the equation is Spielberg's schedule, which already includes filming on his untitled drama about the aftermath of the 1972 Munich Olympics for Universal and DreamWorks, and a January start on DreamWorks' Abraham Lincoln/Civil War film, starring Liam Neeson.