After the unexpected success of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Steven Spielberg expected to direct two additional films in the series. "George said if I directed the first one,” Spielberg said, “then I would have to direct a trilogy. He had three stories in mind. It turned out George did not have three stories in mind and we had to make up subsequent stories."
But Temple of Doom is a markedly different film than Raiders. When Spielberg and series co-creator George Lucas was crafting the film, their respective contentious divorces weighed heavily on their minds - and the tone of the film assuredly reflects that. And when the film was released, critics certainly noted its darker tone - from the demonic temple in India to the black magic to the human sacrifices that are featured in the film.
Also, Lucas and Spielberg decided to set the film before Raiders because he felt that using the Nazis again as villains would be cheap and cliched. Beyond that, the two spent several years developing and fine-tuning the story with screenwriters Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz.
Filming began in earnest in 1983 after a number of delays and issues with filming on location in India. The result of the final product is to say the least breathtaking. Spielberg directed each scene with his usual visual panache.
