Disney has confirmed the release of a new Indiana Jones movie with Harrison Ford set to return in the lead role. What’s more, Steven Spielberg will direct.
The film is set for a July 19th, 2019 release.
Update – Friday, March 18th at 2:50 p.m. CT: David Koepp has been hired to pen the new Indiana Jones script. A longtime collaborator of Spielberg, Koepp is known for writing Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and War of the Worlds, and co-wrote Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
The announcement of a new Indiana Jones movie was not unexpected. Disney acquired the franchise along with Star Wars from Lucasfilm in 2012, and rumors of a fifth installment have persisted ever since. What is surprising, however, is the inclusion of Ford in the lead role. By the time the new Indiana Jones film hits theaters in 2019, Jones will be 77 years old, and there’d been talk that Disney was searching for a replacement Indy, with Chris Pratt emerging as a fan and studio favorite.
(Read: Whipping Indiana Jones Back Into Fortune and Glory)
In today’s announcement, Disney did not share any details of any additional actors or plot points, saying only, “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. 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.”
While we await for more, revisit Michael Roffman’s recent essay on the future of Indiana Jones and how Disney can restore fortune and glory to the franchise.
