Steven Spielberg has reassured fans that Harrison Ford will not be killed off in the new Indiana Jones movie.
Disney confirmed in March that Ford will be returning for a fifth outing as Indy, setting a release date of July 19, 2019. Though Chris Pratt has been linked to the franchise, producer Frank Marshall recently said that no one but Ford will be playing the iconic title role.
“Indiana Jones is one of the greatest heroes in cinematic history, and we can’t wait to bring him back to the screen in 2019,” Disney chairman Alan Horn said in March. “It’s rare to have such a perfect combination of director, producers, actor and role, and we couldn’t be more excited to embark on this adventure with Harrison and Steven.”
Now, speaking about the sequel with The Hollywood Reporter, Spielberg, who is returning as director, said: “The one thing I will tell you is I’m not killing off Harrison [Ford] at the end of it.”
Fellow Indiana Jones franchise veterans Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy, who is now president of Lucasfilm, are returning as producers alongside Spielberg. Disney bought Lucasfilm in a $4bn deal in 2012, acquiring the rights to Star Wars and Indiana Jones in the process.
Indy’s last outing was 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, released almost two decades on from previous instalment Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.