Harrison Ford set for fifth Indiana Jones adventure

When Disney purchased Lucasfilm back in 2012 the big prize in the crackerjack box was Star Wars with all its movies, comic books, and merchandise sales. Buried in the bottom of that box was a little franchise called Indiana Jones. While Disney has focused on the big prize up until now, the adventuring archaeologist is about to get his time back in the spotlight.

Talking with the BBC, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy reports that Harrison Ford is ready for the next Indiana Jones movie and that it will not be a reboot.

“We’re working away, getting the script where we want it to be and then we’ll be ready to go. Harrison Ford will be involved, yeah. It’s not a reboot; it’s a continuation. He can’t wait. He absolutely is [up for it.]”

For his part, Ford spoke with IGN and said that Indiana Jones 5 will resolve part of Indy’s history.

“Well, I’m not going to share the story with you because that doesn’t seem like a good idea. but we’ll see new developments in his life, his relationship. We’ll see part of his history resolved.”

Filming for Indiana Jones reportedly starts filming soon. Steven Spielberg will be back in the director’s chair and soon as he finishes post-production on the remake of “West Side Story.” Indiana Jones 5 already has a release date of July 9, 2021. The sooner they can get started the better as that’s a pretty tight production schedule.

Many fans like to point out that Harrison Ford will be 77-years old at the time of filming. We certainly know some spry 77-year olds, but we don’t expect Ford to be doing his own stunts either. We also don’t know who else will join the cast but ‘relationship’ implies Karen Allen will be back as Marion Ravenwood considering Jones and Ravenwood were married at the end of 2008’s “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”

We can’t envision anyone else but Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones and Ford himself has said that when he’s ready to hang up the whip, his character will follow. Of course, actors never get the last say in these things. Could you see anyone else putting on the fedora of Indiana Jones?

Like Star Wars, Disney had already integrated Indiana Jones into its theme parks before it bought Lucasfilm. Given what Disney was able to do with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge to extend the franchise, could Disney do even more with Indiana Jones in the parks?

There has long been a rumor that the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular might give way for an entire Indiana Jones themed land in that section of the park. There’s also a fan favorite of changing Dinosaur at Disney’s Animal Kingdom to an Indiana Jones themed ride. The thought goes, that since it uses the same ride vehicles and track layout as the Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland, it would be an easy change. I just don’t see that happening. Dinosaurs is one of the longest and most exciting franchises in history (actual history) and Disney would be daft to ignore it.

At Disneyland, there has been some talk about adding a second Indiana Jones attraction that inter-plays with the Jungle Cruise and Indiana Jones adventure (much like original concept art for that attraction depicted). Disneyland Paris has the Indiana Jones themed coaster that could be paired with a new attraction or restaurant. There’s also a long rumor of a steampunk adventure roller coaster themed attraction coming to Adventureland in the Magic Kingdom, that could quite easily be modified to include an Indiana Jones themed.

Would you like to see more Indiana Jones added to Disney’s theme parks? If so, what do you want to see and where? Let us know in the comments.

Previously: Indiana Jones fifth movie moving forward but will be Harrison Ford’s last.