If desperation has a name, it must be Indiana Jones.
The Hollywood Reporter has word that Disney has officially announced a fifth Indiana Jones film for 2019, featuring the return of Harrison Ford as adventure hero Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones, Jr. along with director Steven Spielberg. Creator George Lucas is reportedly not involved with the project.
According to the article, Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilms, and her husband Frank Marshall will produce the film. Kennedy previously worked on the original film, Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), as an associate to Spielberg, while Marshall was the producer. Both were involved with the next three films, all of which Spielberg directed.
The last film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, was released in 2008 to mostly negative reactions from fans and critics, although it still made over $786 million worldwide.
The article also claims that Disney and Paramount reached an agreement in 2013 giving Disney control over all future films. Paramount retains rights to the first four films and will receive a financial participation on any future films that are produced and released.
"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," said Disney chairman Alan Horn. "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."
Ford, 73, seems to be taking advantage of a career resurgence of late, after reprising his role of Han Solo in last year's Star Wars: The Force Awakens for presumably the last time. In addition, he's expected to reprise his character of Rick Deckard in a sequel to Blade Runner for 2018.
Indiana Jones 5 is slated to arrive in theaters on July 19, 2019.