March 15--Indy is back. Disney has announced the return of Harrison Ford and longtime "Indiana Jones" director Steven Spielberg for a fifth "Indiana Jones" movie.
The studio that is now in possession of several treasured movie franchises announced that Spielberg "will helm the as-yet-untitled project with star Harrison Ford reprising his iconic role," with the movie's release set for July 19, 2019. Also along for the ride are longtime "Indiana" collaborators Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy (president of Lucasfilm), who will produce.
"Indiana Jones is one of the greatest heroes in cinematic history, and we can't wait to bring him back to the screen in 2019," Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn said in a news release. "It's rare to have such a perfect combination of director, producers, actor and role, and we couldn't be more excited to embark on this adventure with Harrison and Steven."
The last Indiana Jones film, "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," positioned actor Shia LaBeof as the inheritor of the hat and whip. But tepid audience response may have dashed studio's plans. The announcement of the new picture makes no mention of any actors other than Harrison Ford.
Noticeably absent from the news release? George Lucas. Looks like when he sold Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012, he didn't look back (or perhaps Mickey revoked his passes). Interesting.
