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Credit: LucasfilmLucasfilm is moving ahead with trying to keep the Indiana Jones franchise alive without Harrison Ford, and they’ve doubled down on their praise for his upcoming replacement.
Harrison Ford portrayed Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones for 42 years, ever since Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) hit theaters and ensured that the Steven Spielberg-George Lucas money train never stopped rolling.
Famously, Spielberg and Lucas came up with the character after bumping into each other in Hawaii (must be nice) and exchanged ideas for something “better than James Bond” and “worth a lot of box office grosses.”
The franchise became one of the most popular and acclaimed adventure series of all time, in large part to do with Ford’s portrayal of the character as alternately roguish, principled, sexy, buffoonish, and brilliant.
Over the course of five films and innumerable spinoffs, including a TV series, books, video games, and a beloved theme park attraction, the series has become inextricably connected to Ford.
Related: Disney Seemingly Cancels ‘Indiana Jones’ Plans Days After Unleashing Bombshell
However, Disney owns the IP (due to its purchase of Lucasfilm), and since Harrison Ford has definitely said he will not return to the character after Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the Mouse has to figure out a way to make money off it without him.
It doesn’t help things that its attempt to recast his other iconic Lucasfilm role, Han Solo, with a younger actor resulted in the only Star Wars movie to lose money to date, so Disney is really stuck here.
The solution? Video games in which Lucasfilm Games can use Ford’s licensed likeness rights (to comfort nostalgia-ridden fans) and use a different actor for motion capture and voice acting.
The official Bethesda Games description of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle reads:
“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.”
Disney spared no expense for the upcoming The Great Circle and hired Troy Baker, a hugely popular video game voice actor best known for his work in The Last of Us and Uncharted series. The game, developed by Bethesda and MachineGames under Lucasfilm Games’ watch, is being treated as part of the franchise canon, which means that, for all intents and purposes, Baker is playing the new Indy.
Related: After Replacing Harrison Ford, ‘Indiana Jones’ Aims To Be “More Inclusive”
In the promotion for The Great Circle, Lucasfilm Games executive producer Craig Derrick doubled down on praise for Troy Baker, saying:
“Troy embodies the charisma and presence of Indy in a way that feels like he’s been preparing for this role his entire career,” Derrick comments. “He knows this character inside and out, has the physicality to bring Indy to life, and understands the nuances of Harrison’s portrayal—getting the tone and voice just right. Plus, Troy knows how to translate all of that onto the performance capture stage. I had the pleasure of watching him deliver an incredible performance, and I often saw him guiding other actors, helping them navigate the motion capture process, and genuinely enjoying every moment on this project. He’s an extraordinary talent, and he’s brought something truly special to the role of Indy.”
Lucasfilm and Disney are going to have to work pretty hard to convince fans that anyone can play Indiana Jones but Harrison Ford (sorry, Sean Patrick Flanery), but maybe a video game is the way to go. It literally can’t do worse than Dial of Destiny did, anyway.
Do you think the Indiana Jones franchise can continue without Harrison Ford?