Steven Spielberg Says “No” To Recasting Harrison Ford In Future INDIANA JONES films

While Chris Miller and Phil Lord are off looking at legions of hopeful actors for someone to take over the role of Han Solo from Harrison Ford for their upcoming Star Wars spin-off film that will chronicle the early days of the intergalactic scoundrel, Steven Spielberg is no great hurry to replace the actor in his own Indiana Jones franchise.

Speaking with Screen Daily, Spielberg shot down any rumors that if there is a fifth Indiana Jones it will not be with a different actor wearing the iconic fedora.

I don’t think anyone could replace Harrison as Indy, I don’t think that’s ever going to happen. It’s certainly not my intention to ever have another actor step into his shoes in the way there have been many actors that have played Spider-Man or Batman. There is only going to be one actor playing Indiana Jones and that’s Harrison Ford.

Bad news, I guess for Chris Pratt and any other actor who has been rumored to have been replacing Ford in a potential new Indiana Jones adventure over the last few years.

But is this a sideways way for Spielberg to acknowledge that he’s thinking about another Indiana Jones film? He certainly sounds ready for more –

So as long as there’s more adventures out there, I’ve got a bullwhip, a fedora, a leather jacket and a man on a horse who knows how to get the job done.

Harrison Ford was recently quoted in EW as stating “I’d love to do another Indiana Jones and work with Steven [Spielberg] again — if we get a script, I’d love to do it.”

A fifth Indiana Jones adventure is indeed possible, as Disney now owns the rights to the character as they were part of their purchase of Lucasfilm back in 2013. However, Paramount owns the distribution rights for any Indiana Jones film, and has since the beginning of the franchise in 1981. This situation raises a number of questions. Would Disney be content with splitting the profits from any new Indiana Jones film with Paramount or would they try and negotiate a deal to get the distribution rights for themselves? How many more Indiana Jones films does Ford have in him? Since Spielberg is not inclined to recasting the role, would it be worth it for Disney to go into those negotiations for just one or two potential sequels?