Cast This: Indiana Jones

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

It's been over a decade since the release of INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL, but now that the franchise is in the control of Disney, a fifth installment is on the way which will see Harrison Ford reprising the role of Indiana Jones. Earlier this month, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said, "We’re working away, getting the script where we want it to be and then we’ll be ready to go. Harrison Ford will be involved, yeah. It’s not a reboot; it’s a continuation." I'm certainly down for another Indiana Jones adventure starring Harrison Ford, but the man isn't getting any younger, and while I'd prefer to see the character end with Ford, I'm also not a billion dollar media conglomerate calling the shots, so it's only a matter of time before the franchise receives a reboot and a new actor fills the role of the famed archeologist.

INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL introduced us to Henry "Mutt" Williams, the son of Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), who could have been the successor to the franchise, but audiences didn't exactly love the character and we've heard several times that Mutt will not be in the next film. The next logical choice is to bring the character back to the pre-KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL era, which means we would need a younger actor playing Indy. While speaking with THR in 2016, Disney CEO Bob Iger said, "Right now, we’re focused on a reboot, or a continuum and then a reboot of some sort. Well, we’ll bring him back, then we have to figure out what comes next… We [got] Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in the film. But then what’s the direction? I’ve had discussions about what the direction is, [but] I don’t want to get into it. I don’t think it reaches the scale of the universe of Star Wars, but I see making more. It won’t be just a one-off." Iger's comments certainly imply that Disney is already thinking about the inevitable recasting/reboot.

As far as the fifth film goes, Harrison Ford revealed last week that production will likely begin in a couple of months. "I’m gonna start doing Indiana Jones in about two months," Ford said. "I’m always delighted to come back to these characters. We have the opportunity to make another because people have enjoyed them. I feel obliged to make sure that our efforts are as ambitious as they were when it started. You have a sense of responsibility to your customers. I think of the people who go to my movies more as customers than I do as ‘fans’, ‘fans’ feels kind of weird to me, always has. But the fact that these people support my business, and I’m responsible to them for the quality of the service that I offer." Here's hoping that it's a worthy finale, especially if they do choose to go the reboot route with the sixth film.

Dr. Henry Jones Jr., better known as Indiana, is a professor of archaeology at Marshall College, but the rest of the time, he's an adventurer who seeks some of mankind's greatest treasures and secrets. Although brilliant and armed with a sarcastic sense of humour, in addition to his bullwhip, a large part of what makes Indiana Jones so great are his failings. Although Indy typically emerges triumphant by the end, he is by no means a superhero and often gets hurt and makes mistakes, but despite overwhelming odds and continuously being beaten down, he perseveres, which makes Indy a very human hero in my book.

Alright, it's time to get down to the task at hand – who should play Indiana Jones? As usual, I'll toss out a few suggestions to get you started. One of the actors whose name gets tossed around whenever this discussion takes place is Chris Pratt (JURASSIC WORLD), and although he's probably the safest choice to take over Indiana Jones, he'd likely do a hell of a job while also making the role his own. Next up, we'll switch to one of the other Chrises, as well as my personal favourite Indy replacement, Chris Pine (WONDER WOMAN 1984). For my final suggestion, we'll go a little younger with Jack O'Connell (Godless), a wonderful actor who hasn't yet had the major big-screen success of Pratt and Pine, but the role might benefit if it goes to an actor who isn't quite as widely known.

Remember, you're free to suggest anyone in the comments, so let your inner casting director run wild!

Previously on Cast This, you were asked to fill the role of Robert Langdon, the famed Harvard symbologist who frequently gets pulled into deadly puzzles and conspiracies and will soon be taking the lead of his very own TV series. As usual, you came through with plenty of great suggestions, including Michael Fassbender (DARK PHOENIX), Jonathan Groff (Mindhunter), and Simon Baker (The Mentalist).