Chris Pratt is worried Harrison Ford's future ghost will haunt him if he ever plays Indiana Jones

Next year, Harrison Ford will finally crack the whip once again as the long-awaited fifth Indiana Jones film hits theaters. The movie comes after more than a decade of waiting, personnel changes, and release date shifts, but it's finally almost time to see the legendary movie star play one of his most iconic characters one last time.

After that, the future of the Indy franchise is uncertain, but one thing now seems pretty clear: Chris Pratt is staying far away from Dr. Jones. 

A few years back, before Ford's plans to return as Indiana Jones really firmed up, reports circulated that director and producer Steven Spielberg was considering Pratt for a new version of Indy, whether that meant a prequel film or simply a new adventure set somewhere in Jones' career with a younger actor taking over for Ford. In the end, Ford returned, and those reports dried up, leaving fans unsure of what to make of the news. 

In a recent interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, host Josh Horowitz took a moment to try and finally clear the rumors up, asking Pratt directly if there were ever any genuine conversations with Spielberg about taking on the role, no matter how superficial the talks actually were. 

“I don’t even know who Steven Spielberg is. Who? Steven Who?” Pratt joked, then moved on to a more honest answer.

“No, aren’t they doing ‘Indiana Jones’ with Harrison Ford? All I know is I once saw a quote from Harrison Ford, and I don’t even know if it was really him, but it was enough to scare me, that was like, ‘When I die, Indiana Jones dies,'" Pratt recalled. "And I’m like, am I gonna get haunted by the ghost of Harrison Ford one day when he dies if I play…?”

Pratt was referring to a 2019 interview in which Ford said simply: “Don’t you get it? I’m Indiana Jones. When I’m gone, he’s gone. It’s easy.” Ford's opinion on the matter doesn't necessarily stop producers from one day recasting the role anyway, but for Pratt, that was enough to seemingly scare him off the role forever.

"That's not anything that is real, I think. People are capable of making mistakes even if they're Deadline [one of the outlets that reported the Pratt/Indy rumors]."

Indiana Jones composer John Williams made headlines last month when he suggested that the upcoming fifth film, for which he will return as composer, might be Ford's last movie role ever, noting that both the actor and Williams himself are on the verge of retirement. For the now 80-year-old Ford, going out on a high note with a final performance as one of his most iconic characters (just a few years after returning to play Han Solo) could be a great swan song. For Indiana Jones, it leaves a lot of question marks, but even if a reboot or prequel becomes a reality one day, it sounds like Pratt will think twice before putting on that fedora.

Indiana Jones 5 is set to hit theaters June 30, 2023.