'He's the Bionic Man': How 79-year-old Harrison Ford completed 'Indiana Jones 5'
The Ark of the Covenant. The Temple of Doom. The Holy Grail. The, um, crystal skull. Now get ready for Indiana Jones and the Forever-in-Development Sequel.
OK, the long-coming Indiana Jones 5 still doesn’t have an official title, but the latest — and presumably final— chapter in the saga of the adventurous archaeologist finally has a release date: June 30, 2023. And you have to credit Harrison Ford for being patient.
Development on the film began way back in 2008, the same year the disappointing Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the fourth film in the franchise, hit theaters.
By the time Indy 5 started production in 2021, Ford was 78 and managed to reprise two other iconic characters (Han Solo in 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and Rick Deckard in 2017’s Blade Runner 2049) in that time frame.
During the Lucasfilm presentation during Star Wars Celebration on Thursday, Ford took the stage to honor legendary 90-year-old composer John Williams. Williams, who received an Oscar nomination for writing the seminal theme introduced in 1984’s Raiders of the Lost Ark, had just conducted an orchestra through a live performance of the tune when Ford arrived on stage.
“That music follows me everywhere. ... That music was playing on the speakers in the operating room when I had my last colonoscopy,” the actor joked, before turning serious and commending Williams as both an exemplary musician and human. Ford then revealed that principal photography on Indy 5 had wrapped.
“I’m really proud of the movie that we made,” the star said to thunderous applause.
In an interview with Yahoo Entertainment shortly afterwards, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy showered Ford with praise for what he continued to bring to the beloved fedora-sporting swashbuckler — even as he nears his 80th birthday in July.
“His energy is amazing, he is the Bionic Man,” Kennedy told us (watch above). “I mean, Harrison in real life, and as Indiana Jones. He’s just remarkable. We had an absolute blast. And he worked almost every day of the shoot. It was remarkable.”
The film, directed by James Mangold and co-starring Phoebe Waller-Bridges, Mads Mikkelsen and Antonio Banderas, will lean into Ford’s (and Indy’s) advancing age.
“He’s an older Indiana Jones, and we don’t shy away from that. That’s what the movie’s about. And that’s what’s pretty great. And Phoebe Waller-Bridge plays a fantastic character in the movie, and they have a great banter. And it’s got all the elements of what I think people are going to be looking forward to with Indiana Jones, so I’m excited.”
Indiana Jones 5 will open in theaters June 30, 2023.
