Fifth Indiana Jones won’t recast title character

Ever since Disney bought Lucasfilm, the primary focus has been on Star Wars, and rightfully so, but there’s another fan-beloved franchise waiting in the wings for a turn at bat, Indiana Jones. Rumors have popped up online about the possibility of another actor picking up the fedora and whip, with a report earlier this year pointing at Chris Pratt as the potential successor to Harrison Ford, but nothing has ever been officially said out loud about the fate of the world’s favorite archaeologist. Now, speaking with Total Film (via Den of Geek), producer Frank Marshall says they’re not considering recasting the part at all for the fifth Indiana Jones movie.

“There are a lot of rumours,” Marshall said. “We haven’t even sat down to talk about Indy yet… at some point we’ll sit down. But there’s a bunch of people who could probably take the baton… We’re not doing the Bond thing where we’re going to call somebody else Indiana Jones… we have to figure this out.”

Ironically, James Bond was a primary influence on the creation of the Indiana Jones franchise from the start, which eventually lead to the casting of Sean Connery as Henry Jones, Sr.

Steven Spielberg recently admitted himself that he will “probably” do a fifth Indiana Jones film, though no further details have been offered up about the planned adventure from the director.

A fifth Indiana Jones movie has been talked about since the most recent big screen adventure, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, went on to gross more than $786 million worldwide when it was released in 2008. Following the sale of Lucasfilm to Walt Disney Pictures and Lucas’ own subsequent retirement, however, hints regarding plans for the future of the franchise have been few and far between. Ford, however, has suggested that he’s quite eager to reprise the role himself, despite turning 73 this year.

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