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Indiana Jones 5 still on track with Harrison Ford; Disney eyes summer 2022 release

By Benjamin Bullard Dec 10, 2020, 6:54 PM ET

Credit: Lucasfilm

Turns out Indy's just been patiently waiting all along for the perfect moment to dive back in to his treasure-spelunking ways. Disney revealed today that the next big-screen installment in the swashbuckling Indiana Jones series is very much alive and on track, with Harrison Ford coming back to reprise his role as the world’s most daring archaeology professor.

Disney and Lucasfilm revealed at today’s Disney Investor Day that the next Indy flick, the fifh in the iconic, long-running series, is set to enter production in the Spring of 2021. Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy said that Logan director James Mangold is still on board to direct the movie, which is now eyeing a targeted release date of July 29, 2022.

Lucasfilm is in pre-production on the next installment of Indiana Jones. At the helm is James @Mang0ld, director of Ford v Ferrari, and Indy himself, Harrison Ford, will be back to continue his iconic characterâs journey. Adventure arrives July 2022.
— Disney (@Disney) December 10, 2020

The announcement was a short-but-sweet confirmation that Indy is still alive and kicking, in a year that saw updates slow to a crawl after production was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. Mangold teased back in May that he’s focusing on a return to the "core ideas" that made the original George Lucas-created, Steven Spielberg-directed Raiders of the Lost Ark such a breakout Lucasfilm smash back in 1981.

Kennedy didn’t share any additional casting information, though that’s sure to come rolling along (like a giant boulder) sooner rather than later, with the film’s production set to resume early next year.

Willow, an Original Series from Lucasfilm starring Warwick Davis, with pilot directed by @JonMChu, is coming in 2022 to @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/pZSvG6T7cf
— Star Wars (@starwars) December 10, 2020

In one other bit of Lucasfilm news outside the galaxy far, far away, Kenendy also revealed a targeted 2022 Disney+ premiere date for the upcoming Willow sequel series, with Disney sharing a new logo (shown above). The series is slated to return Warwick Davis to his role as Willow Ufgood from the 1988 original movie, whose director, Ron Howard, is back this time around in an executive production capacity.

Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians, In the Heights) will direct the series' pilot episode, written by co-showrunner Jonathan Kasdan (Solo: A Star Wars Story). Chu will also executive-produce, alongside Kasdan and co-showrunner Wendy Mericle (Arrow).