The fourth installment of the Indiana Jones franchise is getting off Scot-free. And that's not a good thing.
Sean Connery, Harrison Ford's incomparable onscreen pater familias in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, has announced that he will not reprise his role in the film's fourth installment.
"I get asked the question so often, I thought it best to make an announcement," Connery writes in a message posted on Lucasfilm's official Indiana Jones site. "I thought long and hard about it and if anything could have pulled me out of retirement it would have been an Indiana Jones film."
Connery, who announced his retirement from the biz in 2005, said that he loves working with director Steven Spielberg and producer George Lucas and that it's an "honor" to portray Ford's big-screen father figure. But...
"In the end," he writes," retirement is just too damned much fun."
The proclamation comes just days before the as-yet untitled sequel kicks off production. The film, which has so far kept everything from its plot to its locations shrouded in mystery, begins shooting in an undisclosed U.S. city on June 18.
As details of the script have yet to leak out—aside from the fact that, unlike its three predecessors, the film will be set post-WWII—it's unclear whether Connery's retirement puts a crimp in the filmmakers' plans, whether the septuagenarian was ever expected to appear in the film, whether the role of Henry Jones Sr. will now be filled by another actor or whether it was beyond the bounds of disbelief, even by Hollywood standards, for the 76-year-old Connery to play papa to a 64-year-old Ford.
While Sir Sean will be MIA from the ride, some other stars are aligning for the adventure.
Ford, Shia LeBeouf and Cate Blanchett are all aboard, and Lucasfilm confirmed Thursday that go-to British tough guy Ray Winstone (The Departed, Sexy Beast) and two-time Oscar nominee John Hurt (V for Vendetta, Alien, Elephant Man) have joined the cast.
Aside from Ford, the nature of the actors' roles has yet to be revealed, though fans are already buzzing that the 67-year-old Hurt may be taking over as Indy's dad and Blanchett might be the love interest. There's also speculation that one of Indy's past paramours, either Raiders of the Lost Ark's Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) or Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom's Willie Scott (Kate "Mrs. Spielberg" Capshaw), might return, but as with most things Indy, Lucasfilm refuses to spill the beans.
Although Connery may have abandoned his post as the film's go-to patriarch, he hasn't quite given up on offering some fatherly wisdom.
"I do, however, have one bit of advice for Junior: Demand that the critters be digital, the cliffs be low, and for goodness sake keep that whip by your side at all times in case you need to escape from the stunt coordinator!
"This is a remarkable cast, and I can only say, 'Break a leg, everyone,' " Connery writes. "I'll see you on May 22, 2008, at the theater!"