Indiana Jones is Harrison Ford and vice versa. So it has always been a frustrating time when someone pitches the new version of Henry Jones Jr., mainly because there isn’t a new version. There’s Indy and then there would maybe be someone who fought for the same principles as Indy but he’s not the same guy. It’s a conversation that has constantly baffled me because, on one hand, I never want the franchise to end. But on the other, without Harrison Ford, what is it?
So, color me unsurprised that known lovable grump Harrison Ford apparently scared away Chris Pratt from ever thinking about taking on the title of Professor Henry Jones Jr. and frankly? Good. I don’t hate Chris Pratt. I do think he peaked at Andy Dwyer on Parks and Recreation, but I do not hate the guy. I do, however, hate the idea that he is the next Harrison Ford type because no, he is not. But Pratt, to his credit, clearly knows that this isn’t his role to step into. On the Happy Sad Confused podcast with Josh Horowitz, Pratt talked about the rumors.
“I don’t even know who Steven Spielberg is. Who? Steven Who?” Pratt quipped before getting more serious. “No, aren’t they doing ‘Indiana Jones’ with Harrison Ford? All I know is I once saw a quote from Harrison Ford and I don’t even know if it was really him but it was enough to scare me, that was like, ‘When I die, Indiana Jones dies.’ And I’m like, am I gonna get haunted by the ghost of Harrison Ford one day when he dies if I play…?”
The quote that Pratt is referring to is when Harrison Ford said, “Don’t you get it? I’m Indiana Jones. When I’m gone, he’s gone. It’s easy,” on the Today Show back in 2019.
The end of Indiana Jones
Sure, we could keep the franchise going, have people join in the world, and even just recast Indy, but the point is that it wouldn’t be the same. No matter how hard we try to make a new Indy movie work, the character is so completely tied to Harrison Ford in a way that it really wouldn’t work. For example, look at the reception to Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo in Solo: A Star Wars Story. Now, for me, I thought that Ehrenreich was an incredible Han and I loved his performance a lot. But the issue here is that Han was part of a larger trio in a larger universe, so recasting even an iconic role like Han could still work because there were so many moving parts.
The problem with Indiana Jones is that the one character really is the focus, and the person who continues to carry on throughout all the movies is Indy. So, recasting him would have to be perfect, and what’s the point when you have Harrison Ford still making them and we still enjoy the original movies?
I’m sort of glad this conversation seems to be over now because it used to frustrate me every time it would appear—mainly because I’d just be confronted with the knowledge that this franchise was seen as something easily done without Harrison Ford, and that’s never been the case.
(featured image: NBC)
