‘Indiana Jones 5’ Will Probably Happen

Steven Spielberg has expressed an interest in making another Indiana Jones movie. Harrison Ford is totally down to reprise his classic character. Okay, so, what’s the hold up? It’s this little thing called Star Wars — maybe you’ve heard of it? Lucasfilm and Disney are committed to not rebooting Indiana Jones or recasting Ford’s role, but they’re also a bit busy with a much more massive franchise that’s kind of eating up everyone’s attention at the moment. One thing at a time.

THR spoke with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, who addressed the possibility of making Indiana Jones 5 — and it sounds like it’s not a matter of if, but when:

We’re 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. We’ve kicked around a couple of story ideas, but beyond that, I don’t know yet. I think there will be one, we’ll certainly move forward with Indy. But right now, everybody’s just focused on Star Wars.

Producer Frank Marshall previously assured fans that they have no intention of pulling a James Bond and recasting the role, while Disney denied rumors of a potential reboot (or their interest in having Chris Pratt star in it). Spielberg recently said he’d like to make another Indiana Jones, while asserting that the role belongs to Harrison Ford, and Ford himself seemed pretty excited about the possibility of a new Indy sequel — this whole Star Wars thing has Ford more energetic and excited than he’s been in years, so now would probably be the best time.

But we’ll have to wait. How long? Who knows. In addition to The Force Awakens, Kennedy and Lucasfilm have plans for Episode 8 and Episode 9, as well as at least three spinoffs under the Star Wars Story banner. It remains to be seen just how long Ford and Han Solo will be involved in the new trilogy — we could be looking at a couple of years or maybe five, though he’s certainly not getting any younger, regardless of his spritely attitude.