Once Disney purchased Lucasfilm, their first priority was to kick off a new shared universe of "Star Wars" films. With J.J. Abrams' "The Force Awakens" set to debut in December and a series of standalone spinoffs and continued saga films planned over the next handful of years, that strategy has firmly been set in motion.
But the other plan Disney had for popular Lucasfilm properties has yet to really be pushed.
Earlier this year, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy confirmed that a fifth "Indiana Jones" movie was in development, though no timeline or specific details were given. But today, original director Steven Spielberg gave fans an update on the franchise.
Talking with Yahoo Movies, Spielberg joked that Tom Hanks and Harrison Ford are now tied for the number of films they've made with him. Ford has four "Indiana Jones" films on his resume, while Hanks starred in "Saving Private Ryan," "Catch Me If You Can," "The Terminal" and the upcoming "Bridge of Spies." According to Spielberg, it's up to him to uneven the playing field.
"Now, I'll probably do an Indy 5 with Harrison, so it'll be five for Harrison, four for Tom...I've got to make another one with Tom, that'll be five for Tom, five for Harrison. And I think I'm going to leapfrog that way for the rest of my career. With Daniel Day-Lewis in everything else!"
Ford has found himself going back to the well in recent years, appearing in the fourth Indy film, "The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," "The Force Awakens" and the planned "Blade Runner" sequel. Although he may be open to donning the iconic whip once again, rumors have circulated that Lucasfilm is looking for a younger actor (Chris Pratt) to take on the role.
As of now, it doesn't sound as if Lucasfilm has a story for the fifth film just yet. But it does sound as if Spielberg is on board to return and that's obviously a big push in the right direction. We'll keep you posted as more details emerge.
