Hang On, Chris Pratt – Harrison Ford Says Indy Dies With Him

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harrison ford as indiana jones

Credit: Lucasfilm

A-list actor Harrison Ford (American Graffiti (1973), Apocalypse Now (1979), Air Force One (1997), What Lies Beneath (2000), 42 (2013)) has had a long and illustrious career, but is, perhaps, best known for his work with Lucasfilm’s two popular franchises Star Wars and Indiana Jones.

chewbacca-harrison-ford-the-force-awakens
Credit: Lucasfilm

Related: Could New ‘Indiana Jones’ Video Game Be Setting Up Chris Pratt Series?

From the time Ford stepped onto the silver screen as everyone’s favorite scruffy nerfherder, Han Solo, in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977), he was cemented in Star Wars history alongside the late Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia Organa) and Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker).

Ford, despite his well-known distaste for the Star Wars franchise as a whole — and complete unawareness of what a force ghost is — went on to reprise his role as the swaggering captain of the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Star Wars: Episode VI – The Return of the Jedi (1983).

Most recently, Ford appeared as Solo in the sequel trilogy, first in Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015) and then, briefly, in a scene with Kylo Ren/Ben Solo (Adam Driver) in Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019).

Amid all of this, however, there was always Indy. Ford has played Indiana Jones — Dr. Henry Jones, Jr. — in four movies beginning with the classic Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) followed, with the most recent film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull hitting theaters in 2008.

indy harrison ford kingdom of the crystal skull
Credit: Lucasfilm

Related: ‘We had fun,’ Harrison Ford Remembers Indy’s Dad, Sean Connery

Recently, rumors of Chris Pratt joining the Indiana Jones franchise — the as-yet-untitled Indiana Jones 5 project is finally getting off the ground this spring, with 78-year-old Ford back for another go-around as the adventurer — have been swirling online.

As it turns out, however, Ford already put the rumors of someone else, specifically — and hilariously — as you’ll discover, Chris Pine (he meant Pratt), to rest in 2019 when he was asked about the iconic role.

The irony in all of this is that Pine has recently been connected to Patty Jenkins’s upcoming Star Wars movie, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron (2023). Talk about full circle.

But, back to Ford. During a Today show appearance, the actor said:

“Nobody is gonna be Indiana Jones! Don’t you get it? I’m Indiana Jones. When I’m gone, he’s gone. It’s easy. This is a h*** of a way to tell Chris Pine this. I’m sorry, man.” 

Access Hollywood later followed up with Ford, who confirmed that he meant his statement seriously.

While we certainly can’t know for sure if Chris Pratt will ever be cast in the Indiana Jones franchise — either as a young Indy or another character altogether — it doesn’t sound like it’s going to happen on Harrison Ford’s watch.

This has not, however, stopped the mounting speculation that something else will eventually take-up the mantle of Indiana Jones, whether it’s in the new Indiana Jones movie or sometime after the fifth installment.

Watch Ford’s full 2019 interview about someone else playing Indiana Jones on Access Hollywood’s YouTube channel below:

 

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