Maybe they should change the title to Indiana Jones and the Quest for the Palm d'Or.
Because instead of evading poison darts and being chased by a giant boulder, your favorite globe-trotting fictional archaeologist will be fending off the flashbulbs of waiting paparazzi along the Croisette.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull will hold its world premiere at the 61st edition of the Cannes Film Festival on May 18, according to Variety.
The long-in-the-works fourth adventure in the eternally popular big-screen series will then swing into theaters worldwide four days later, on May 22.
Judging from the newly released teaser trailer for Crystal Skull, the only fortune and glory Indy is seeking this time around is a trip down memory lane—unlike Raiders of the Lost Ark, when he "protected the power of the divine," Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, when our whip-wielding hero "saved the cradle of civilization," or Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, when he "triumphed over the armies of evil."
Director Steven Spielberg, producer George Lucas and stars Harrison Ford, Shia LaBeouf and Cate Blanchett are expected to suit up in their black-tie best and hit the red carpet for the hotly anticipated unspooling, the first Indiana Jones film in 19 years.
Crystal Skull will not actually be competing, however, for Cannes' biggest prize, the Golden Palm. It'll be showing out of competition, essentially serving as the festival's lone Hollywood summer blockbuster (following such recent tentpole screenings as The Matrix Reloaded and Lucas' Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith) amidst the more arty fare that traditionally gets spotlighted at the Palais along the French Riviera.
Cannes organizers have yet to confirm the screening, as they are still working on the lineup for the May 14–25 bash, but an official announcement should be forthcoming sometime in April. That is, once programmers get a look at the finished flick, which Spielberg is busy editing and whose plot has been more carefully guarded than the Holy Grail. (What we can tell you so far is that Indy goes up against the Soviets and one of the locations is Area 51.)
The last time the Tinseltown showman attended Cannes was way back in 1982, for the premiere of E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, which went on to become one of the highest-grossing films of all time.
No doubt Spielberg and company will be looking for history to repeat itself.
Heading up this year's jury will be Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn, who, as it happens, just finished directing Ford and Ashley Judd in the immigrant drama Crossing Over.