Disney Wants to Make an ‘Indiana Jones’ TV Series
Disney has already turned Marvel and Star Wars from movie franchises into Disney+ properties. Now, they've reportedly begun exploring the possibility of an Indiana Jones series. This news comes as the company is finishing a fifth Indiana Jones film, which was recently filmed; Harrison Ford is set to star in the latest sequel, which will presumably be his last outing in the character’s signature fedora.
According to Variety, Disney and Lucasfilm “have specifically been bringing up the possibility of a streaming show set in the world of the globe trotting archaeologist in general meetings with writers of late.” That suggests the concept is in extremely early stages, so it is totally unclear whether this show would reboot the Indiana Jones concept, or be tied in some way to the upcoming Indiana Jones 5.
This would not be the first Indiana Jones television series. George Lucas created The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles in 1992, which followed the adventures of young Indy at two different ages: As a young boy and as a teenager. The show lasted for two seasons of 28 episodes, plus a handful of television movies.
James Mangold is directing Indiana Jones 5, and it would seem that he makes a great fit. He's helmed a number of extremely successful films, including Logan, 3:10 to Yuma, and Walk the Line. George Lucas had actually worked on a potential fifth Indiana Jones prior to selling Lucasfilm to Disney, but nothing ever came of it. David Koepp and Jonathan Kasdan also jumped onto the project to write for a while, but that script was scrapped as well. The current version was penned by Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth. Technically, Steven Spielberg is the only director the series has ever had, but that ends with this entry. He vacated the director's chair back in 2020, and instead took a producer role.
Indiana Jones 5 is due for release in movie theaters on June 30, 2023.