The adventure continues!
Walt Disney Studios announced Tuesday that Indiana Jones will return to the big screen on July 19, 2019. Steven Spielberg, who directed the first four films in the franchise, will helm the as-yet-untitled project with Harrison Ford reprising his titular role as the adventure-seeking professor. Kathleen Kennedy—now the president of Lucasfilm—and Frank Marshall will produce. Disney, which acquired Lucasfilm in 2012 for $4 billion, takes over for Paramount, which released the first four films. Additional cast members will be announced at a later date.
"Indiana Jones is one of the greatest heroes in cinematic history, and we can't wait to bring him back to the screen in 2019," Alan Horn, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, told E! News in a statement. "It's rare to have such a perfect combination of director, producers, actor and role, and we couldn't be more excited to embark on this adventure with Harrison and Steven."
The film franchise began in 1981 with the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark. A prequel, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, was released in 1984, followed by a sequel, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, in 1989. A fourth film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, was released in 2008 and co-starred Shia LaBeouf. In total, the movies have earned nearly $2 billion at the global box office.
For years, rumors swirled that Lucasfilm was planning to reboot the series with a new lead; after all, Ford will be 76 years old when the fifth installment hits theaters. Bradley Cooper and Robert Pattinson's names were thrown into the mix in 2014, though nothing ever materialized (and Pattinson flat-out denied the casting speculation to E! News). Chris Pratt was the latest actor rumored to be in contention in 2015, though he seemed wary of taking the reigns from Ford. "You have to look at it and be like, 'Is this right for me? Is it right for me to do this? And is it perfect?'" he told Entertainment Weekly while promoting Universal Pictures' blockbuster Jurassic World. "You don't want to be the guy who f--ks that up."
Prior to Indiana Jones, Disney-Pixar will also release The Incredibles 2 on June 21, 2019.