Have you ever wondered what a young Marion Ravenwood show would be like?
I have. For years. And the more I wondered about it, the more I wanted to see it. At some point, I decided I had to stop just wondering and do something.
Online now, thanks to Twitter and a folder of PDFs, are an illustrated pitch deck and full pilot script for Ravenwood, an imagined show that tells the story of Marion in the years before Raiders of the Lost Ark.
I took the idea for this story to my friend and regular co-writer James Field and, together, we cooked up a whole three-season arc and pilot screenplay. Perhaps I did a few more of the plot twist and puzzle bits and he did lots more of the jokes, but it’s quite a Lennon and McCartney affair over all. This is the juice that runs out when our brains are mushed together. And I’m delighted to say, we’re both really proud of what we made.
But why Ravenwood? As we explain in our pitch, we love Marion. We both did, from the very moment we met her. Not only would we want to watch a show to learn lots more about her, we’d just love to see her in the spotlight.
There’s a page in the pitch that specifically contrasts Marion as our show would introduce her, aged 17 and on the cusp of a worldwide adventure, with the Marion of 28 years we meet in The Raven in Raiders. This is the sweep of our show.
We also worked hard on coming up with a climax that works, and has tension and surprises without selling out a single plot beat from Raiders or any of the other movies.
Well, at least until the new one comes out in just over a year. Who knows what that story is going to entail? We don’t even know if Marion’s going to be in it, but we are hoping!
James and I also worked together on the audio drama series Circles and a few other things that we can’t talk about yet. Ravenwood is special, though. It’s just pure fun and love, from first page to the last.
We hope you really enjoy Ravenwood. It’d make our year if Marion’s other fans find this and share our enthusiasm.
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