Producer Frank Marshall couldn’t see any other actor than Harrison Ford in the role of Indiana Jones. He expressed confidence in the return of Ford in the upcoming fifth Indiana Jones episode, noting he was the only man for the role.



When speaking with Variety at CinemaCon on Monday in Las Vegas, Marshall said the next installment will be a continuation of the “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” film. The producer also dismissed the idea that Ford was too old to play the swashbuckling archaeologist.

Senior film and media writer Brent Lang from Variety asked Marshall about continuing “Indiana Jones” for even more sequels, he said it may just happen.

“It’s all about the story. I think both in the ‘Jason Bourne’ series and on ‘Indiana Jones,’ we are not going to do the Bond thing,” Marshall said, referring to rotating different actors through the title roles in the two franchises that he oversees. “We think those characters are iconic, and those are the only actors who can play that.”

The veteran producer also said, the actor delivered a confident return to duty as Han Solo in Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens, a film produced by his wife and Lucasfilms chief Kathy Kennedy.

Ford, recently opened up about his return to “Indiana Jones” while visiting Jimmy Kimmel Live! last month. Kimmel brought up Ford’s past resistance to putting back on Indy’s hat and asked if he had agreed to return because the powers-at-be had come up with an idea he loved.

“I haven’t read the script,” said Ford, before joking, “I’m talking about the contract!” So big bucks aside, why’d he decide to do it? “The opportunity to work with Steven (Spielberg) again, and the chance to revisit this character which has brought pleasure to so many people — not to mention me,” he said. “It’s great fun to play this character, it’s great fun to work with Steven,” he added. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Marshall went on to say that it was “pretty sweet” to be returning to a series that introduced him to director Steven Spielberg and to his future wife, Kathleen Kennedy, now president of “Star Wars” maker Lucasfilm. Of the Indiana Jones sequel, he added,

“We’re just getting the deal together and planning to bring on a writer. It’s going to be two to three years. This will be an original idea; but we have the character and it’s not prequel but continuing since the last one.”

The Producer who founded Amblin Entertainment with Spielberg is preparing to direct again – a rare feature of his career – and was lining up The Longest Night, based on a Baltic Sea coastal rescue story.

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