Your resident Indiana Jones super fan has logged on. And with that comes the news that Disney may be trying to bring more to the world of Indiana Jones. In an exclusive to Variety, it seems as if Disney and Lucasfilm are trying to keep the legacy of Indiana Jones alive and have eyed the franchise for a Disney+ series. That’s interesting given Harrison Ford’s decree that he is done after Indiana Jones 5.
With Harrison Ford now being a big part of the Disney payroll, with him taking on the role of Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I wouldn’t be surprised if this series were just simply a change of tune from Ford given how exciting it is to even have the prospect of a fifth film with Indiana Jones.
This is also not the first time there’s been a show about Indiana Jones. There was the series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles that ran for two seasons and even included Harrison Ford at one point playing an older Indiana Jones. It wasn’t the greatest show, which is why it isn’t known that well outside of those of us who are obsessed with the world of Indy, but it was still an attempt to create a television series of Indy’s stories and one that was fun despite being very dated now.
So jumping into a new series on Disney+ is appealing. Still, the series is just something that Disney is reportedly looking into doing and since we don’t know what happens in Indiana Jones 5 yet, this is just speculation. Nevertheless, this is exciting for me, so let’s talk about what could happen given the future of Indy.
What could it be if not focused on Henry Jones Jr.?
Give it to Short Round. That’s easily the simplest and most “true to the franchise” thing to do. They tried to pass on the mantle in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull with Shia LaBeouf’s Mutt Williams being the son of Indy, but if I were going to see a show about anyone that wasn’t focused on actual Indiana Jones, I’d want it first and foremost to go to Short Round.
While a series about Marion Ravenwood (either now with Karen Allen or a past show with a younger actor) is something I would eat up, I think that it is time to actually give Short Round the attention he deserves, and seeing how excited Ke Huy Quan was to see Harrison Ford again, I think that’d be a great thing to explore. So even if Ford is “retired” from Indy, we could still hold out hope.
Until we know more, I’m just excited that Indiana Jones 5 doesn’t seem to be the end of the franchise. And look, Harrison Ford cried while watching the footage at D23, and he got emotional about playing Indiana Jones, so there is still hope in me that Indy and Short Round could be reunited once more in a Disney+ series.
(featured image: Lucasfilm)
