Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny rides into theaters this weekend. The fifth installment in the beloved franchise marks the end of Harrison Ford’s run as the famed professor of archaeology. Barring any sort of major unexpected shift in attitude, the 80-year-old actor will not return as Indy.
Talking to Total Film magazine, here’s what Harrison Ford had to say about his future with the Indiana Jones franchise:
“This is the final film in the series, and this is the last time I’ll play the character. I anticipate that it will be the last time that he appears in a film.”
So there you have it, Harrison Ford will not return as Indiana Jones after Dial of Destiny. But what about the future of the franchise as a whole? Will it continue? Will Lucasfilm recast the iconic character?
Will there be an Indiana Jones 6 without Harrison Ford?
Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy has already gone one record stating they would not make another Indiana Jones movie without Harrison Ford. Speaking to Vanity Fair, she said the following:
“We would never make Indiana Jones without Harrison Ford. Having just finished the fifth movie, I can tell you, there wasn’t a day I wasn’t on set where I wasn’t like, ‘Yes – this is Indiana Jones.'”
It would seem then, that Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny will be the final film in the franchise and we will not be getting Indiana Jones 6. Of course, this could change down the line. There were talks that Disney was looking at several options to keep the franchise alive through spin-offs on both the small and big screen. There were rumors of a planned prequel series, but it seems that has since been scrapped.
Disney acquired the Indiana Jones IP as part of its acquisition of Lucasfilm for $4 billion back in 2012. Of course, the primary goal of that purchase was to acquire the Star Wars franchise. Indiana Jones was just some icing on the cake.
So for now, it would seem that there are no plans for Indiana Jones 6 and there won’t be for quite some time. But money does the talking in Hollywood and if Dial of Destiny somehow does amazing numbers, then perhaps Disney could rethink ending the franchise entirely. But would a movie or TV series without Harrison Ford even be close to successful?