It’s been more or less confirmed by Disney/Lucasfilm that another installment of the adventures of Indiana Jones is coming, but everyone thought that the next outing would be a reboot. And if not a reboot, then at least a James Bond style re-casting of the lead role, getting a new, younger actor to play the part of the intrepid Dr. Jones in his 1930s era heyday. Rumors were swirling that it might be Bradley Cooper, or more recently, Chris Pratt, who would be wearing the famous fedora and cracking that whip.

Well, not so fast, all of you out there eager to send Harrison Ford’s version of Indy off to the Nursing Home For Movie Icons. While Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks were out promoting their new film Bridge of Spies, Spielberg joked that Tom Hanks is now tied with Harrison Ford for starring in the most films by the famed director. “We’ve gotta figure this out because now, Tom is tied with Harrison Ford: Harrison and I did four movies, Tom and I have done four movies,” said Speilberg. “Now I’ll probably do an Indy 5 with Harrison, [so] it’ll be five for Harrison, four for Tom.”

That seemed like a confirmation if you ask me. Not only is Steven Spielberg going to do a fifth Indy flick, but Harrison Ford is going to star. And I have to say, this comes as a bit of a surprise since it seems that Spielberg’s heart isn’t really into making popcorn movies anymore. Plus, Harrison Ford is… well, Harrison Ford is 73 years old. While I’m totally ok (and even unreasonably excited) for him to be playing Han Solo again, it’s one thing to fly a spaceship at 73 and another to swing on vines and run through jungles. If it looked awkward in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and that was already seven years ago, imagine now. But maybe Spielberg and Ford just don’t want anyone else playing with their toys as long as they’re still around.

The ideal solution, of course, is to have Harrison Ford as the elder Indy in some kind of framing device (often used on the television show The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles) and recast the part of a younger Indiana Jones. It would hopefully give Harrison a better send off than Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and also pass the torch to a new, younger actor in the part. Whatever ends up happening, we imagine concrete news on a new Indiana Jones film will be coming from Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy sooner rather than later.

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HT: Yahoo Movies

IMAGE: Lucasfilm