When Disney initially acquired Lucasfilm, they were up front about the fact that they wanted to reactivate the “Indiana Jones” series in addition to the obvious “Star Wars” buy. Obviously, there were ownership issues with Paramount involved, and it’s the sort of thing you absolutely can’t do without Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford.
But that didn’t make the task impossible.
Disney announced today that they’d worked out the details and given us a date for the fifth installment of the adventures of Indiana Jones. July 19, 2019 is the day.
From the official Disney Blog:
This just in! Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford are teaming up for a brand new Indiana Jones film, which is set to hit theaters on July 19, 2019! While we don’t know much about the project yet, we do know that Harrison Ford will be reprising his role, and franchise veterans Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall are attached to 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,” said Alan Horn, Chairman, The Walt Disney Studios. “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.”
As one of many people who enjoyed “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skyll”, this is something I’m decidedly excited for. The timeline, based solely on the age of Harrison Ford, would put this film in the 1960s somewhere and offers some really fascinating backdrops in history to give Indiana Jones to affect. The adventure movies from the era range from “James Bond” and “Swiss Family Robinson” to “The Guns of Navarone” and “Lawrence of Arabia.”
With “Crystal Skull,” we were given the atomic era of sci-films from the 50s. The previous films gave us takes on movies like “Gunga Din” and old serials.
This will, undoubtedly, feel different, but it will definitely bring “Indiana Jones” into an all new era and style of adventure.
One curious omission from the release is the involvement of George Lucas. Did he give up his stake in the creation of the further adventures of the character just as he did with “Star Wars?” Did he leave a blueprint or idea for future McGuffins? Only time will tell.
In any case, I’ve added the date to my calendar, I expect you will, too.