After five Indiana Jones films, Kathleen Kennedy has now revealed whether Harrison Ford will reprise the iconic role for another installment in the franchise. This has been a big question mark ever since Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny underwhelmed at the box office and received the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score in the franchise.
During a wide-ranging interview with Deadline, Kennedy, who just stepped down as president of Lucasfilm, opened up about the future of the Ford-led movie series. She admitted that Indiana Jones “will never be done,” but executives are not currently interested in creating another film.
“We are all still here, Steven [Spielberg] and Frank [Marshall] and I, and Harrison and George [Lucas], so we get to say whether there’s going to be any more or not,” she explained. Kennedy also revealed that she has “no regrets” about releasing Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, despite its status as a box office flop.
Ford wanted to star in the film “more than anything,” as he didn’t want the franchise to end with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Kennedy gave him that opportunity, which was “the right thing to do.”
“No, no. I have no regrets about that because Harrison wanted to do that more than anything. He did not want Indy to end with the fourth movie. He wanted a chance at another, and we did that for him. I think that was the right thing to do. He wanted to do that movie. I don’t think Indy will ever be done, but I don’t think anybody is interested right now in exploring it. But these are timeless movies, and Indy will never be done.”
“You never know. But we are all still here, Steven and Frank and I, and Harrison and George. So we get to say whether there’s going to be any more, or not.”
The original Indiana Jones trilogy was released from 1981 to 1989, during Ford’s time as Han Solo in the Star Wars films; both properties were created by Lucas.
Not only were they box office hits and received mostly positive reviews (with Raiders of the Lost Ark earning an impressive 94% on Rotten Tomatoes), but the film also won multiple Oscars, including Best Film Editing, Best Production Design, Best Sound and Best Visual Effects.
Aside from the TV spinoff The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles in the ’90s, the film franchise lay dormant for several years before finally returning to the big screen with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in 2008, which saw Ford return as the titular character and Spielberg back as director.
Crystal Skull became the highest-grossing Indiana Jones film, with $786 million earned at the box office. While reviews were largely positive, the film tied Temple of Doom for what was then the lowest-rated Indiana Jones flick on Rotten Tomatoes at 77%.
After Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, the priority for the company was reviving the Star Wars franchise, but executives were also interested in returning to the world of Indiana Jones. However, the James Mangold-directed Dial of Destiny bombed at the box office, grossing only $384 million and hitting a new low on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 71% score.
Both Kennedy and Disney CEO Bob Iger have expressed interest in producing more Indiana Jones projects, but Ford has already announced his retirement from the franchise. Any future sequels or spinoffs would have to focus on other characters, since there are no plans to recast Ford.
While reports surfaced in 2022 that Disney intended to create a new TV show, those plans were canceled several months later.
The future of the franchise is up in the air right now after Kennedy’s latest comments. Interestingly, Disney and the director promoted The Dial of Destiny as the final film, so it seems like the company has now left some wiggle room for Indiana Jones 6.
Whether that ends up being another film or a second TV show remains to be seen, but based on Kennedy’s new update, Indiana Jones will “never be done.“
- Cast
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Harrison Ford, Denholm Elliott, John Rhys-Davies, Karen Allen, Kate Capshaw, Ke Huy Quan, Amrish Puri, Sean Connery, Julian Glover, Alison Doody, Shia LaBeouf, Cate Blanchett, Ray Winstone, John Hurt, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen
- Video Game(s)
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Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Indiana Jones’ Greatest Adventures, LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures, Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues, Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine, Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb, Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings
- Movie(s)
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Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
- Character(s)
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Indiana Jones, Marcus Brody, Sallah, Marion Ravenwood, Wilhelmina Scott, Wan Li, Mola Ram, Henry Jones, Sr., Walter Donovan, Elsa Schneider, Henry Jones III, Irina Spalko, George Michale, Harold Oxley, Helena Shaw, Jürgen Voller