Sorry Chris Pratt: Harrison Ford Will Officially Star As Indiana Jones In A Fifth Movie

Harrison Ford, a 73-year-old actor who in recent years has proven to be as unkillable as any action hero, will officially reprise the role of Indiana Jones in a fifth franchise instalment.

Disney made the announcement this morning, revealing that Ford would reunite with director Steven Spielberg for Indiana Jones number five.

The recent success – ‘success’ being a gigantic understatement – of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, in which Ford returned as Han Solo, no doubt inspired Disney to make a move on their other Lucasfilm acquisition: the Indiana Jones brand name.

For a while, rumours swirled that Chris Pratt would take over the part of Indy in a rebooted series, but it seems Disney don’t want to tool around with a winning formula just yet. Pratt will instead have to make do with the Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World franchises, as well as his upcoming role opposite Jennifer Lawrence in the sci-fi romance Passengers. Man, when will that guy catch his break?

According to The Guardian, the Spielberg-directed fifth installment of the Indiana Jones saga will hit cinemas July 19, 2019. This means it’ll be arriving eleven years after the much-maligned, fridge-nuking Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Ford will be 77 by the time of the picture's release.

Producers Kathleen Kennedy and George Lucas will also be back to help shepherd the project. (Notably, Lucas was asked to sit out of the filmmaking process of The Force Awakens.)

No word on whether or not Shia LaBeouf will return as Indy Jr. (aka Mutt). To Shia, we have only one word of advice:

Meanwhile, the hunt for a young Han Solo – for his upcoming origin story – has been reportedly narrowed down to Alden Ehrenreich, Taron Egerton, Jack Reynor, Emory Cohen, Ansel Elgort and Miles Teller. That is, until they just make Ford do it. Please, Disney, let the man sleep.

Picture: Paramount.