Steven Spielberg Says Indiana Jones 5 Won't Kill Off Harrison Ford
At least one of his characters will survive.
Following on from The Force Awakens, and with Blade Runner 2 and Indiana Jones 5 to come, there was something of a running joke that Harrison Ford was just going to go through all the roles that made him into the iconic movie star he is today and kill them off one by one.
While we don't know what will become of Deckard in the Blade Runner sequel, which is due out next year, we have now learnt of Dr Jones' fate in Indy 5, which is scheduled for summer 2019.
In a wide-ranging profile of the director over at The Hollywood Reporter, Steven Spielberg confirmed whether or not Indy would be killed off:
"The one thing I will tell you is Im not killing off Harrison [Ford] at the end of it.
There you have it, straight from the director's mouth. Unless, of course, Ford asks him to change his mind, but then he's long seemed to have a greater liking for this character than he did Han Solo.
Spielberg wasn't giving any more away about the film, but did say that it's "straight down the pike for the fans," and he is "super excited" about making it. The comment about the fans is interesting, indicating that he'll be conscious of avoiding the problems that made Kingdom of the Crystal Skull such a mess.
Rumours have swirled about the future of the franchise, with suggestions of actors taking on the Indiana Jones name, or a passing of the torch type movie. Ford's survival doesn't rule anything out, and given his advancing years - he'll be 76 when Indy 5 comes out - it's still likely to be his last film in the series, unless we're headed for an octogenarian adventurer.
Indiana Jones 5 is currently scheduled for release on July 19, 2019.