Despite literally riding off into the sunset over 30 years ago at the end of The Last Crusade, before spending the next two decades stuck in development hell only to deliver one of the internet’s least favorite movies with Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, there was no chance that Disney were going to leave Indiana Jones alone when they acquired the rights after purchasing Lucasfilm.
The fifth installment is still on track to begin shooting in the spring according to those in the know, but with a third different writer currently hard at work on the third completely different version of the script, it wouldn’t be a surprise in the slightest for Indiana Jones 5 to be hit with yet another delay having already being pushed back several times since first being announced for July 2019.
Producer Frank Marshall has said that the title role will never be recast and the fifth entry in the beloved series will draw a line under the famed archeologist’s big screen adventures, but there’s no chance that Disney are going abandon such a popular and marketable commodity.
Unlike fellow Lucasfilm stablemate Star Wars, though, which is ripe for reinvention give the scope and untapped potential of the mythology, in the eyes of most fans, there’s no Indy without Harrison Ford, which presents a pretty sizable roadblock for the Mouse House to try and work around. However, insider Daniel Richtman now claims that an animated series is in development for Disney Plus, which is arguably the smartest way to carry on the franchise.
After all, an animated show could operate independently of the movies to tell whatever stories it wants, while also easily overcoming the obstacle of carrying on Indiana Jones without Harrison Ford by following The Clone Wars model and hiring a talented voice actor to put their own spin on a cinematic icon.
