It’s official: Indiana Jones 6 will be arriving in December 2024.
‘Indiana Jones and the Struggling Franchise’
The Indiana Jones franchise is one of the most iconic action-adventure series in pop culture. It stars a newly minted Disney Legend as Dr. Henry Walton “Indiana” Jones, Jr., an archaeologist who tends to use his fists and bullwhip more often than his excavation sieves and shovels.
The series was created by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, both of whom had recently risen to the heights of Hollywood on the backs of Star Wars (1977), Jaws (1975), and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977).
Spielberg and Lucas famously met up in Maui to discuss future projects, with the former having a vague idea of making a James Bond film; Lucas countered with an idea that he claimed would be “better” than 007.
That idea was the loose story for Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), the first movie in the series. It established the essential tone and themes of the franchise, inspired by the Republic Pictures serials of the 1930s (like Zorro and Dick Tracy) as well as earlier adventure films like the Ronald Reagan movie Hong Kong (1950) and Secret of the Incas (1954), plus more than a little Donald Duck.
For decades, Lucas, Spielberg, and Harrison Ford would return to the series to put Indiana Jones through a new quasi-spiritual quest involving a mystical artifact, creating one of the most beloved heroes in film history.
Then, The Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm from its founder in 2012, paying a staggering $4.05 billion for the Star Wars, Willow, and Indiana Jones IP. Since then, the Mouse has primarily focused on expanding the Star Wars series with a new trilogy of films and an increasingly controversial set of Disney+ TV shows.
Willow, starring Warwick Davis, received a single season of a sequel series that has since been pulled from streaming, and Indy fans got Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023).
Related: ‘Indiana Jones’ Concept Art Shows Harrison Ford and Ke Huy Quan Fighting Zombies
The film, directed by James Mangold, who co-wrote with David Koepp and the writing team of Jez and John-Henry Butterworth, starred Harrison Ford, John Rhys-Davies, Karen Allen, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, Toby Jones, Boyd Holbrook, Ethann Isidore, and Mads Mikkelsen, was released after a huge press wave that promoted it as Indy’s “final” adventure.
Ford himself was clear that he had no intention of returning to the role after the film, which meant that the Mouse was counting on it becoming a big blockbuster to prove that the franchise could justify its purchase cost.
By any measure, The Dial of Destiny was a huge disappointment for Disney. Its production budget was an estimated $295 million, making it one of the most expensive movies ever made (a growing problem for Disney-produced franchises). It grossed a mere $384 million worldwide; after marketing costs are factored in, it is estimated to have lost the company over $130 million.
To recoup the cost of The Dial of Destiny, Disney really has only one choice to keep the struggling franchise going: Indiana Jones 6.
‘The Great Circle’ Coming Soon
After months of anticipation, there is finally an official release date for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, the upcoming video game and sixth canonical adventure for the franchise. According to Bethesda Games, the game will be available on December 9 for Xbox Series X|S, Game Pass, and PC.
The game studio also released a new trailer at gamescom Opening Night Live:
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was jointly developed by Bethesda and MachineGames, with the newly formed Lucasfilm Games having the final creative say over the project. The game was directed by Jerk Gustafsson and Axel Torvenius from a story by executive producer Todd Howard; Gordy Haab composed original music and new versions of the classic film score from legend John Williams.
Bethesda describes the game:
Uncover one of history’s greatest mysteries in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle™, a first-person, single-player adventure set between the events of Raiders of the Lost Ark™ and The Last Crusade™. The year is 1937, sinister forces are scouring the globe for the secret to an ancient power connected to the Great Circle, and only one person can stop them – Indiana Jones™. You’ll become the legendary archaeologist in this cinematic action-adventure game from MachineGames, the award-winning studio behind the recent Wolfenstein series, and executive produced by Hall of Fame game designer Todd Howard.
Related: Disney’s Hidden ‘Indiana Jones’ Detail You’ve Missed for Almost 30 Years
The Great Circle is the first major post-Dial of Destiny Indiana Jones project, as well as the first official video game featuring the character in years.
The franchise has a long history of multimedia expansion, which includes the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles TV series, multiple video games, innumerable books, comic books, theme park attractions, and branded merchandise, so it makes a lot of sense that the synergy-obsessed Disney would attempt to revive the franchise outside of films.
It also allows Lucasfilm to deal with Harrison Ford’s absence. In addition to refusing to return as the character, Ford has insisted that it not be recast on the big screen.
However, Ford was willing to license his likeness rights to the game, so The Great Circle could also woo fans by featuring a character who looks as photorealistic to the legendary actor as the id Tech game engine allows. Troy Baker fills in for the voice work, given that Ford’s own vocals no longer sound like they did in the 1980s.
Bethesda’s Jens Andersson describes the POV of the game, saying, “[Y]ou have the chance to truly become Indy. First-person makes you part of this world – allowing you to explore and experience things more intimately. What will you do when you’re dropped into this adventure with your wits and your whip? The world of Indiana Jones is a world with mysteries around every corner, where you’re racing against the clock and outsmarting your enemies as you hunt down artifacts.”
The game reportedly also features third-person gameplay, presumably to maximize the use of Ford’s digital likeness. While the game does not appear to be an open-world concept (like the upcoming Star Wars: Outlaws game), it will take place in detailed real-life locations like Rome, Thailand, Egypt, Shanghai, and the Himalayas.
Disney will need to figure out how to keep one of the most recognized franchises in the world going when it seems that audiences don’t care about it in theaters or its star returning. Indiana Jones 6 becoming a video game might be the smartest thing the company can do right now.
Are you going to play Indiana Jones and the Great Circle? Tell us your favorite Indy memories below!