Walt Disney Co. revealed today Harrison Ford will be reprising his role as Indiana Jones for a fifth movie in the franchise. However, George Lucas will not be involved in the film.
The company, who took control of the franchise in 2013 from Paramount, confirmed the news in a statement and also revealed the movie is expected to be released on July 19, 2019.
LucasFilm President Kathleen Kennedy previously said that plenty of people involved in the franchise were in agreement about doing another film.
She said in an interview, “We are all trying to figure out when the right time is to step back in. Harrison really wants to do it; Steven really wants to do it.”
Speilberg also said that there was no way he would want to replace Ford in the title role, saying no one “could replace Harrison as Indy.” Ford himself, who also reprised his role as Han Solo in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, said he would love to take on the role as Indy once again.
In a statement, Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn said, “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.”
In addition to Kennedy, Frank Marshall will return to produce the fifth installment in the series. The film has not been named as of yet. In total, the first four films have achieved almost $2 billion globally at the box office.