Indiana Jones franchise
Encyclopedia
The Indiana Jones franchise is an entertainment franchise, based on the historical fantasy adventure
s of Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones
, a fictional
archaeologist. It began in 1981 with the film Raiders of the Lost Ark
. A prequel
, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
, followed in 1984 and the sequel
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
in 1989. In 1992, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
began airing on television. A fourth film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, was released in 2008. The series was created by George Lucas
; the films star Harrison Ford
and were directed by Steven Spielberg
.
In addition, Marvel Comics
began publishing The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones in 1983, and Dark Horse Comics
earned the comic book rights to the character in 1991. Novelizations of the films have been published, in addition to a series of German novels by Wolfgang Hohlbein
, and twelve novels set before the films published by Bantam Books
. Numerous video games about Indiana Jones have been released since 1982.
(1981) is set in 1936. Indiana Jones
(Harrison Ford
) is assigned by government agents to locate the Ark of the Covenant
before the Nazis do, to make them invincible like the Israelites in the Old Testament
, who revered it as the dwelling place of God. The Nazis are being helped by Indiana's nemesis René Belloq (Paul Freeman). With the help of his old flame Marion Ravenwood
(Karen Allen
) and Sallah
(John Rhys-Davies
), Indiana manages to recover the Ark in Egypt
. The Nazis manage to steal the Ark and capture Indiana and Marion. Belloq and the Nazis perform a ceremony to open the Ark, but when they do so, they are all killed gruesomely by the Ark's wrath. Indiana and Marion, who survived by closing their eyes, manage to get the Ark back to America, where it is stored in a secretive government warehouse.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(1984) is set in 1935, a year before Raiders of the Lost Ark. Indiana escapes Chinese gangsters with the help of singer/actress Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw
) and his twelve-year-old sidekick Short Round (Jonathan Ke Quan). The trio crash-land in India
where they come across a village whose children have been kidnapped. A destructive cult
led by Mola Ram (Amrish Puri
) have also taken the holy Sankara Stones, which they will use to take over the world. Indiana manages to overcome Mola Ram's evil power, and rescues the children and returns the stones to their rightful place, overcoming his own mercenary
nature.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
(1989) opens in 1912 where a thirteen-year-old Indiana (River Phoenix
) attempts to recover an ornamental cross belonging to Francisco Vásquez de Coronado
, a task which he finally completes in 1938. Indiana along with his friend Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott
) are assigned by American businessman Walter Donovan (Julian Glover
) to find the Holy Grail
. They are teamed up with Dr. Elsa Schneider (Alison Doody
), following on from where Indiana's estranged father Henry (Sean Connery
) left off before he disappeared. It turns out Donovan and Elsa are in league with the Nazis, who captured Henry in order to get Indiana to help them find the Grail. However, Indiana recovers his father's diary filled with his research, and manages to rescue him before finding the location of the Grail. Both Donovan and Elsa fall to the temptation of the Grail, while Indiana and Henry realize that their relationship with each other is more important than finding the relic.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) is set in 1957, making it nineteen years since The Last Crusade, and thus acknowledging the real-life passing of years between films. Indiana is having a quiet life teaching before being thrust back into his old adventuring. He races against agents of the Soviet Union
, led by Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett
) for the crystal skull
. Indy's journey takes him across Nevada
, Connecticut
, Peru
, and the forest of the Amazon
in Brazil
. In the film. Indiana is faced with betrayal by one of his best friends, Mac (Ray Winstone
), is introduced to a greaser named Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf
), who turns out to be his son (real name revealed to be Henry Jones III), and is reunited with his old flame Marion Ravenwood.
wrote The Adventures of Indiana Smith. Like Star Wars
, it was an opportunity to create a modern version of the serials of the 1930s and 1940s. Lucas discussed the concept with Philip Kaufman
, who worked with him for several weeks and came up with the Ark of the Covenant
as the plot device
. The project was stalled when Clint Eastwood
hired Kaufman to direct The Outlaw Josey Wales
. In May 1977, Lucas was in Maui
, trying to escape the enormous success of Star Wars
. Friend and colleague Steven Spielberg
was also there, holidaying from work on Close Encounters of the Third Kind
. Spielberg told Lucas he was interested in making a James Bond film
. Lucas then told him of an idea "better than James Bond", explaining the plot of Raiders of the Lost Ark
. Spielberg loved it, calling it "a James Bond film without the hardware", though he had the character's surname
changed to "Jones
". Spielberg and Lucas made a deal with Paramount Pictures
for five films about Indiana.
Spielberg and Lucas aimed to make Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
much darker, because of their personal moods following their respective break-ups and divorces. Lucas made the film a prequel
as he didn't want the Nazis to be the villains again. He had ideas regarding the Monkey King and a haunted castle, but wound up creating the Sankara Stones. He hired Willard Huyck
and Gloria Katz
to write the script as he knew of their interest in Indian culture. The major scenes that were dropped from Raiders of the Lost Ark were included in this film: an escape using a giant rolling gong as a shield, a fall out of a plane in a raft, and a mine cart chase. For the third film, Spielberg revisited the Monkey King and haunted castle concepts, before Lucas suggested the Holy Grail
. Spielberg had previously rejected it as too ethereal, but then came up with telling a father-son story. He thought, "The Grail that everybody seeks could be a metaphor for a son seeking reconciliation with a father and a father seeking reconciliation with a son."
Following the 1989 release of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
, Lucas let the series end as he felt he could not think of a good plot device to drive the next installment, and chose instead to produce The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
, which explored the character in his early years. Ford played Indiana in one episode, narrating his adventures in 1920 Chicago
. When Lucas shot Ford's role in December 1992, he realized the scene opened up the possibility of a film with an older Indiana set in the 1950s. The film could reflect a science fiction 1950s B-movie
, with aliens as the plot device. Ford disliked the new angle, telling Lucas "No way am I being in a Steve Spielberg movie like that." Spielberg himself, who depicted aliens in Close Encounters of the Third Kind
and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
, resisted it. Lucas came up with a story, which Jeb Stuart turned into a script from October 1993 to May 1994. Lucas wanted Indiana to get married, which would allow Henry Jones Sr. to return, expressing concern over whether his son is happy with what he has accomplished. After he learned that Joseph Stalin
was interested in psychic warfare, he decided to have Russians as the villains and the aliens to have psychic powers. Following Stuart's next draft, Lucas hired Last Crusade writer Jeffrey Boam
to write the next three versions, the last of which was completed in March 1996. Three months later, Independence Day
was released, and Spielberg told Lucas he would not make another alien invasion film. Lucas decided to focus on the Star Wars prequels.
In 2000, Spielberg's son asked when the next Indiana Jones film would be released, which made him interested in reviving the project. The same year, Ford, Lucas, Spielberg, Frank Marshall, and Kathleen Kennedy met during the American Film Institute
's tribute to Ford, and decided they wanted to enjoy the experience of making an Indiana Jones film again. Spielberg also found returning to the series a respite from his many dark films during this period. Spielberg and Lucas discussed the central idea of a B-movie involving aliens, and Lucas suggested using the crystal skull
s to ground the idea. Lucas found those artifacts as fascinating as the Ark, and had intended to feature them for a Young Indiana Jones episode before the show's cancellation. M. Night Shyamalan
was hired to write for an intended 2002 shoot, but he was overwhelmed writing a sequel to a film he loved like Raiders, and claimed it was difficult to get Ford, Spielberg, and Lucas to focus. Stephen Gaghan
and Tom Stoppard
were also approached.
Frank Darabont
, who wrote various Young Indiana Jones episodes, was hired to write in May 2002. His script, entitled Indiana Jones and the City of Gods, was set in the 1950s, with ex-Nazis
pursuing Jones. Spielberg conceived the idea because of real life figures such as Juan Perón
in Argentina
, who protected Nazi war criminals. Darabont claimed Spielberg loved the script, but Lucas had issues with it, and decided to take over writing himself. Lucas and Spielberg acknowledged the 1950s setting could not ignore the Cold War
, and the Russians were more plausible villains. Spielberg decided he could not satirize the Nazis after directing Schindler's List
, while Ford felt "We plum[b] wore the Nazis out." Darabont's main contribution was reintroducing Marion Ravenwood
as Indiana's love interest, but gave them a 13-year old daughter, which Spielberg decided was too similar to The Lost World: Jurassic Park
.
Jeff Nathanson
met with Spielberg and Lucas in August 2004, and turned in the next drafts in October and November 2005, titled The Atomic Ants. David Koepp
continued on from there, giving his script the subtitle Destroyer of Worlds, based on the Robert Oppenheimer
quote. It was changed to Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, as Spielberg found it more inviting a title and actually named the plot device. Koepp wanted to make Mutt into a nerd, but Lucas refused, explaining he had to resemble Marlon Brando
in The Wild One
; "he needs to be what Indiana Jones' father thought of [him] – the curse returns in the form of his own son – he's everything a father can't stand". Koepp collaborated with Lawrence Kasdan on the film's "love dialogue".
) in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has led to speculation that he will take over the franchise from Ford. In an interview with IGN
, "Spielberg
indicated that LaBeouf has to make multiple Transformers movies before he can move over and take on the fedora and bullwhip of Indiana Jones." The actor himself said, "Am I into it? Who wouldn't be? I don't think that's reality. It's a fun rumor." Ford said he would return for a fifth film if it doesn't take another twenty years to develop, while Spielberg responded it would happen "only if you [the audience] want more". In an interview with Time, when asked about passing the fedora to Shia in the next Indy movie, Ford said, "What are you talking about? It's mine. I would love to do another Indiana Jones movie. George Lucas is working on an idea now. Shia can get his own hat. I earned that hat."
George Lucas made another suggestion that there would be a fifth film. While at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival
, he revealed his idea "to make Shia LaBeouf the lead character next time and have Harrison Ford come back like Sean Connery
did in the last movie [Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade]." At the time Last Crusade was filmed, Connery was still only 58. Lucas also said that age need not be a factor, as Ford was "65 and did everything in this movie [Crystal Skull]. The old chemistry is there, and it's not like he's an old man. He's incredibly agile; he looks even better than he did 20 years ago, if you ask me." In August 2008, Lucas was researching potential plot devices, and stated Spielberg was more open to the idea of the fifth film. He also changed his mind about continuing the series with a spin-off, joking "Indiana Jones is Indiana Jones. Harrison Ford is Indiana Jones. If it was Mutt Williams it would be Mutt Williams and the Search for Elvis
or something." Two months later, Ford stated that he would not return if the fifth film was an animated film like The Clone Wars
, because "I'd hate to see it reduced in any way from the movies that we have done and the way we have done them." He also called Lucas' concept for the fifth film "crazy but great".
When asked how being married to Marion Ravenwood
and having a son would affect the character in a fifth film, Ford only replied "He's seen something. Remember those are the only witness to what he's seen. That's kind of interesting." In January 2010, Ford said, "I think it would be interesting to advance the understanding of the character, as we always have had that ambition throughout the series. I think it would be interesting to deepen the relationship between he and his son and play on that relationship. ... It's full of opportunity. The series is full of opportunity."
The possibility of Indiana Jones 5 continued to be discussed through 2009 and 2010. Reports speculated in June 2009 that the fifth installment would start filming in 2011 and involved a plot that revolved around the Bermuda Triangle
, although these rumors were later clarified as "completely false" by Frank Marshall on his Twitter page. Speaking to BBC
journalist Lizo Mzimba
in June 2009, LaBeouf confirmed that "Steven [Spielberg] just said that he cracked the story on it [the fifth film], I think they're gearing that up." Lucas stated he was working on the film as of December 2009. Most recently, in November 2010, Ford said that he and Spielberg are waiting for Lucas to present an idea to them. In March 2011, The Deadbolt interviewed Karen Allen and she was asked about the fifth film's status. "What I know is that there’s a story that they like," said Allen, "which is a huge step forward. I heard this about six months ago, that they have a story that they like and they’re working on it."
(1992–1996) featured three incarnations of Indy: Sean Patrick Flanery
played Indy aged 16–20; Corey Carrier
played the 8- to 10-year-old Indy in several episodes; and George Hall
narrated the show as the 93-year-old Indy, who bookended each episode. Lucas began developing the series in 1990 as "edutainment
" that would be more cerebral than the films. The show was his first collaboration with producer Rick McCallum
, and he wrote the stories for each episode. Writers and directors on the show included Carrie Fisher
, Frank Darabont
, Vic Armstrong
, Ben Burtt
, Terry Jones
, Nicolas Roeg
, Mike Newell
and Joe Johnston
. In the Chronicles, Indy crosses path with many historical figures, played by stars such as Daniel Craig
, Christopher Lee
, Bob Peck
, Jeffrey Wright, Marc Warren
, Catherine Zeta-Jones
, Elizabeth Hurley
, Anne Heche
, Vanessa Redgrave
, Julian Fellowes
, Timothy Spall
and even Harrison Ford as the 50-year-old Indy in a season two episode (taking the usual place of Hall).
The show was ambitiously shot in over 25 countries for over 150 weeks. Season one shot from March 1991 to March 1992; the second season began two months later and wrapped in April 1993. The American Broadcasting Company
was unsure of Lucas's cerebral approach, and attempted to advertise the show as an action-adventure like the films. Ratings were decent if unspectacular, and ABC was nervous enough to put it on hiatus after six episodes until September 1992. With only four episodes left of the second season to air, ABC eventually sold the show to the Family Channel; they changed the format from 50-minute episodes to 90-minute TV movies. Filming for the final four episodes took place from January 1994 to May 1996. The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles received mixed reception from fans, although it won 10 Emmy Awards out of 23 nominations, and also earned a 1994 Golden Globe nomination for Best Drama series. It was an experimentation ground in digital effects for Lucasfilm
.
The series was released on home video in VHS and DVD formats. Lucas had been working for some time on drastically reediting and restructuring the show for a home video release. Major structural changes were made to the show, including the complete removal of the 93-year-old Jones 'bookend' sections. The DVD boxset was released to tie in with the theatrical debut of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Amongst other extras, the discs include approximately 100 new historical featurettes.
was of Raiders of the Lost Ark, written by Campbell Black and published by Ballantine Books
in April 1981. It was followed by Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, written by James Kahn
and published by Ballantine in May 1984. Finally, they published Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in May 1989. It was the first Indy book by Rob MacGregor. MacGregor was awarded the job after helping an editor on another project. Neither the editor nor LucasFilm
were aware of MacGregor's interest in history and archaeology. A fan of the first two films, MacGregor admitted writing the novelization made him "somewhat disappointed with [the third]. That’s because I took the script and expanded it to novel length [and] adding scenes while Spielberg took the same script and trimmed a few scenes to tighten the story. So, for me, it was all very familiar when I saw the movie, but it seemed somehow to be missing something."
German Fantasy and SF author Wolfgang Hohlbein
wrote eight novels from 1990—1993 published by the Goldmann Verlag
, but none of these were translated into English. Hohlbein set his books from 1938—1944, except for the first which he set in 1929 and 1932. Lucas had no involvement in this series.
Meanwhile, Lucas asked Rob MacGregor to continue writing original novels for Bantam Books
. They chose to make them prequel
s set in the 1920s (after Indy graduates from college), so to not interfere with the films. Lucas only permitted Marcus Brody to appear. Lucas also told MacGregor to base the books on real myths, but except for the deletion of a sex scene, MacGregor was given total creative freedom. Barring Stonehenge
, MacGregor chose locations he had visited in the past. His six books -- Indiana Jones and the Peril at Delphi, Indiana Jones and the Dance of the Giants, Indiana Jones and the Seven Veils, Indiana Jones and the Genesis Deluge, Indiana Jones and the Unicorn's Legacy, and Indiana Jones and the Interior World -- were published from February 1991—November 1992. The fourth book, The Genesis Deluge (Feb 1992), featuring Noah's Ark
, was the best-selling novel. MacGregor felt it "had a strong following among religious-oriented people [...] because they tend to take the Noah’s Ark story to heart and think of it as history and archaeological fact, rather than myth. They also see Indy as one of their own, even though he's actually quite an iconoclast
[...] However, Indy follows the trail and indeed finds 'an ark' on Mount Ararat
." MacGregor's own favorite of his books was the preceding third book The Seven Veils. This featured real-life explorer Percy Fawcett
, and the tragic death of Indy's wife, Deirdre Campbell. Deirdre, a red hair
ed student of Indy at the University of London
, dies in the book's climactic plane crash.
Martin Caidin
wrote the next two novels in Bantam's series, Indiana Jones and the Sky Pirates and Indiana Jones and the White Witch. These both feature Gale Parker (like Deirdre Campbell, a red haired woman) as Indiana's sidekick, and also introduced afterword
s to the series, regarding the novel's historical context. Caidin became ill, so Max McCoy took over in 1995 and wrote the final four novels, Indiana Jones and the Philosopher's Stone, Indiana Jones and the Dinosaur Eggs, Indiana Jones and the Hollow Earth, and Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Sphinx. McCoy set his books nearer to Raiders, which informed his characterization of Indy. "The Raiders Indy was a bit darker [...] Not evil, just a shade rougher, and a little closer to Belloq than he would like to admit. In Raiders, Indy had to decide to be a hero," he said. McCoy gave a sample to his editors, featuring the crystal skull
, which became the prologue of the first book. The skull became a recurring story, which concludes when Indy gives it up in the final novel. McCoy spent a longer time researching his novels, and Lucas's involvement was limited. LucasFilm also had to censor sexual or outlandish elements of his novels, in order to make McCoy's adult sensibilities appeal to younger readers, and they also rejected time travel in the final book because it was too science-fictional. Sallah
, Lao Che, Rene Belloq and the Nazis made appearances, and McCoy also pitted Indy against Benito Mussolini
's fascists and the Japanese. Indy has a doomed romance with Alecia Dunstin, a red-haired librarian at the British Museum
, in this cycle. A novel involving the spear of destiny was dropped because Dark Horse Comics
was developing the idea.
IGN
journalist Scott Chitwood felt, "Bantam never marketed [the books] very well and many people never knew they existed." He asked former Bantam editor Tom Dupree in 2000, why they were not published in hardback. He answered, "Indy is just a better educated, more erudite, more human Doc Savage
. Who wants to pay $
22 for an adventure novel? Keep them at the paperback price, then if Indy 4 gets closer to reality, maybe we might rethink." In February 2008, the novelizations of the first three films were published in one edition. James Rollins
' Kingdom of the Crystal Skull novelization arrived the following May. Children's novelizations of all four films were published by Scholastic in 2008. MacGregor is writing new books for Ballantine for early 2009, as is Steve Perry
, whose Army of the Dead is due April 28, 2009. In May 2009, a new "middle grade" series entitled Untold Adventures will begin. The first two books are entitled Pyramid of the Sorcerer and Mystery of Mount Sinai.
Indiana Jones - Goldmann Verlag
Written by German Fantasy and SF author Wolfgang Hohlbein
without any involvement by LucasFilm these books were never translated into English.
between 1991 and 1999. The books were geared toward an adult / young adult audience and are prequels to the storyline of the film series, as they are set in the 1920s and early 1930s.
line, written by various authors. These books were similar to the Choose Your Own Adventure
series, allowing the reader to select from options that change the outcome of the story. Ballantine Books
first series of Find Your Fate books debuted with Indiana Jones as the title character. Each book in this series was numbered and the first several releases were titled "Find Your Fate Adventure" after which the word "Adventure" was taken out. Nearly this entire 17-book series was dedicated to stories within the world of Indiana Jones, with the exception of books #10 - #15 which centered around either Morgan Swift (# 10 & 15) or James Bond
(# 11-14). The company concurrently published several other Find Your Fate series, each labeled with their own distinct numbering, featuring licensed properties such as G.I. Joe
, Thundercats
and Jem
as well as original characters.
Bantam Books
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles:
Ballantine Books
Young Indiana Jones:
Graphic novels
Non-fiction books
. Atari released Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in 1985. In 1988, an NES
version
of Temple of Doom was released. LucasArts
released two versions of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
, entitled The Action Game and The Graphic Adventure
. An NES version of The Last Crusade
was released in 1991. The final adaptation of the films, until 2008, was Indiana Jones' Greatest Adventures
, released on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
in 1994. In 2008, LucasArts released Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
, which was based on the original three movies.
LucasArts released the first original Indiana Jones game, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
, in 1992, which was a personal computer game
. A sequel, entitled Indiana Jones and the Iron Phoenix
, was intended for a 1995 release, but was cancelled. Indiana Jones and His Desktop Adventures
followed instead in 1996. LucasArts released Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine
in 1999 on the PC, and it was also released on the Nintendo 64
and the Game Boy Color
by 2001. The game featured the return of Sophia Hapgood, Indy's sidekick from Fate of Atlantis. Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb
, a prequel to Temple of Doom, was released on the PlayStation 2
, Xbox
and Microsoft Windows
in 2003. Another game with the title Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings was released in June 2009 for the Nintendo DS
, Wii
, PSP
and PS2. 2 Lego
video games have been released titled Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
and Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues
George Lucas has collaborated with Walt Disney Imagineering
on four occasions to create Indiana Jones attractions for Disney Parks worldwide:
produced a 12-inch-tall "Authentically styled Action Figure" of Indiana Jones. The next spring they delivered nine smaller-scale (3-3/4") action figures, three playsets, and replicas of the German "Desert Convoy Truck," and Indy's Arabian horse
, all based on characters and situations from the Raiders movie. They also offered a Kenner-branded Raiders board game
. In conjunction with the theatrical release of Temple of Doom (1984), TSR, Inc.
put out miniature metal versions of twelve characters from both ToD and Raiders for a role playing game. LJN Toys Ltd.
released just three six-inch action figures for Temple of Doom in 1984: Indy, Mola Ram, and the Giant Thugee; there were plans for the addition of Willie Scott and Short Round, and also a mine car racing set, but these followups were never made available. The third Indy feature film, The Last Crusade (1989), saw no toy merchandise tie-ins, but by 1993 Horizon filled the void with highly detailed vinyl model kits of Indy and his father, Henry, Sr., while in 1995 Micro Machines
released a box set of ten die-cast toy
vehicles from all the films to that point. Micro Machines also considered a mini. playset that was never made available to the buying public. Toys McCoy released a Japanese-market-only limited edition (3000 units) 12-inch Indy and his horse from Raiders in 1999. In January 2001, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
sold new and exclusive action figures and vehicle models, and a second wave followed in August 2003. This included G.I. Joe
versions of Indy, including an African-American styled toy, to honor the black performers at their stunt shows.
Hasbro
released toys based on Raiders of the Lost Ark and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on May 1, 2008. Figure waves including characters from The Last Crusade, and Temple of Doom followed later in the year (http://www.cooltoyreview.com/Hasbro_IJ.asp), but ended up being distributed on a very limited basis, and proved rather difficult for collectors to find. The new toy line consists of 3 3/4-inch sized, highly articulated figures (each packed with a "Hidden Relic" artifact), supporting vehicles, and an Akator playset. A run of eight large (12-inch-tall) action figures was also issued, along with a series of "Adventure Heroes" aimed at young children. Die-cast vehicles, and some role-playing items rounded out the line. Hasbro ran several incentive mail-away offers requiring proof of purchase
to receive an exclusive one sixth-scale (sized for 12-inch figures) Ark of the Covenant
, an "Adventure Heroes" Indy with his horse from the first film, or a crystal skeleton action figure from the fourth film. Hasbro announced the cancellation of the line in the fall of 2008, due to poor overall sales, coupled with a down economy in the U.S. . Sideshow Collectibles, Gentle Giant, Diamond Select Toys
and Kotobukiya also earned the Indiana Jones licensing rights in 2008. Lego
will release eight play sets to coincide with the fourth film. Only half of them are based on Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: three are based on Raiders and another is based on Crusade.
Merchandise featuring franchise cross-overs include a spoofy Mr. Potato Head
Taters Of The Lost Ark set by Hasbro, Mickey Mouse
as Indiana Jones (available only in Disney parks), and a Muppets-brand Adventure Kermit action figure, produced by Palisades Toys
, based on the frog's appearance in the Disney World stunt show
as seen in The Muppets at Walt Disney World
(although for legal reasons, the producers and figure's packaging made it clear that "Adventure Kermit" was in no way affiliated with Indiana Jones; the item nonetheless appears in DK's Indiana Jones: The Ultimate Guide, published in 2008).
Adventure
An adventure is defined as an exciting or unusual experience; it may also be a bold, usually risky undertaking, with an uncertain outcome. The term is often used to refer to activities with some potential for physical danger, such as skydiving, mountain climbing and or participating in extreme sports...
s of Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones
Indiana Jones
Colonel Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., Ph.D. is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials...
, a fictional
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
archaeologist. It began in 1981 with the film Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by George Lucas, and starring Harrison Ford. It is the first film in the Indiana Jones franchise...
. A prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a 1984 American adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the second film in the Indiana Jones franchise and prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark . After arriving in India, Indiana Jones is asked by a desperate village to find a mystical stone...
, followed in 1984 and the sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 American adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, from a story co-written by executive producer George Lucas. It is the third film in the Indiana Jones franchise. Harrison Ford reprises the title role and Sean Connery plays Indiana's father, Henry...
in 1989. In 1992, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 4, 1992, to July 24, 1993. The series explores the childhood and youth of the fictional character Indiana Jones and primarily stars Sean Patrick Flanery and Corey Carrier as the title character, with...
began airing on television. A fourth film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, was released in 2008. The series was created by George Lucas
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
; the films star Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford is an American film actor and producer. He is famous for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the title character of the Indiana Jones film series. Ford is also known for his roles as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner, John Book in Witness and Jack Ryan in...
and were directed by Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
.
In addition, Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
began publishing The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones in 1983, and Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
earned the comic book rights to the character in 1991. Novelizations of the films have been published, in addition to a series of German novels by Wolfgang Hohlbein
Wolfgang Hohlbein
Wolfgang Hohlbein is a German writer of science fiction, fantasy and horror fiction who lives near Neuss, North Rhine-Westphalia. His wife, Heike, is also a writer and often works with her husband. She often comes up with the story ideas and therefore is generally credited as co-author...
, and twelve novels set before the films published by Bantam Books
Bantam Books
Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by Random House, the German media corporation subsidiary of Bertelsmann; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. Kramer, and Ian and Betty Ballantine...
. Numerous video games about Indiana Jones have been released since 1982.
Overview
Raiders of the Lost ArkRaiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by George Lucas, and starring Harrison Ford. It is the first film in the Indiana Jones franchise...
(1981) is set in 1936. Indiana Jones
Indiana Jones
Colonel Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., Ph.D. is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials...
(Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford is an American film actor and producer. He is famous for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the title character of the Indiana Jones film series. Ford is also known for his roles as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner, John Book in Witness and Jack Ryan in...
) is assigned by government agents to locate the Ark of the Covenant
Ark of the Covenant
The Ark of the Covenant , also known as the Ark of the Testimony, is a chest described in Book of Exodus as solely containing the Tablets of Stone on which the Ten Commandments were inscribed...
before the Nazis do, to make them invincible like the Israelites in the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
, who revered it as the dwelling place of God. The Nazis are being helped by Indiana's nemesis René Belloq (Paul Freeman). With the help of his old flame Marion Ravenwood
Marion Ravenwood
Marion Ravenwood Jones is a fictional character that first appeared in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark. Played by Karen Allen, she enters the story when Indiana Jones visits her in Nepal, needing her help — specifically, he needs an artifact in her possession, originally obtained by her...
(Karen Allen
Karen Allen
Karen Jane Allen is an American actress best known for her role as Marion Ravenwood in Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull...
) and Sallah
Sallah
Sallah Mohammed Faisel el-Kahir, better known as Sallah , is a fictional character played by John Rhys-Davies in two of the four Indiana Jones films: Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade...
(John Rhys-Davies
John Rhys-Davies
John Rhys-Davies is a Welsh actor and voice actor. He is perhaps best known for playing the charismatic Arab excavator Sallah in the Indiana Jones films and the dwarf Gimli in The Lord of the Rings trilogy...
), Indiana manages to recover the Ark in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. The Nazis manage to steal the Ark and capture Indiana and Marion. Belloq and the Nazis perform a ceremony to open the Ark, but when they do so, they are all killed gruesomely by the Ark's wrath. Indiana and Marion, who survived by closing their eyes, manage to get the Ark back to America, where it is stored in a secretive government warehouse.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a 1984 American adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the second film in the Indiana Jones franchise and prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark . After arriving in India, Indiana Jones is asked by a desperate village to find a mystical stone...
(1984) is set in 1935, a year before Raiders of the Lost Ark. Indiana escapes Chinese gangsters with the help of singer/actress Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw
Kate Capshaw
Kate Capshaw is an American actress. She is known for her role as Willie Scott in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. She is married to Steven Spielberg.-Early life:...
) and his twelve-year-old sidekick Short Round (Jonathan Ke Quan). The trio crash-land in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
where they come across a village whose children have been kidnapped. A destructive cult
Destructive cult
A destructive cult is a religion or other group which has caused or has a high probability of causing harm to its own members or to others. Some researchers define "harm" in this case with a narrow focus, specifically groups which have deliberately physically injured or killed other individuals,...
led by Mola Ram (Amrish Puri
Amrish Puri
Amrish Singh Puri , ; 22 June 1932 – 12 January 2005 was an iconic theater and film actor from India, who was a key player in the Indian theater movement that picked up steam in the 1960s. He worked with notable playwrights of the time, such as Satyadev Dubey and Girish Karnad...
) have also taken the holy Sankara Stones, which they will use to take over the world. Indiana manages to overcome Mola Ram's evil power, and rescues the children and returns the stones to their rightful place, overcoming his own mercenary
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
nature.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 American adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, from a story co-written by executive producer George Lucas. It is the third film in the Indiana Jones franchise. Harrison Ford reprises the title role and Sean Connery plays Indiana's father, Henry...
(1989) opens in 1912 where a thirteen-year-old Indiana (River Phoenix
River Phoenix
River Jude Phoenix was an American film actor, musician, and teen icon. He was the oldest brother of fellow actors Rain, Joaquin, Liberty, and Summer Phoenix.Phoenix began acting at age 10 in television commercials...
) attempts to recover an ornamental cross belonging to Francisco Vásquez de Coronado
Francisco Vásquez de Coronado
Francisco Vásquez de Coronado y Luján was a Spanish conquistador, who visited New Mexico and other parts of what are now the southwestern United States between 1540 and 1542...
, a task which he finally completes in 1938. Indiana along with his friend Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott
Denholm Elliott
Denholm Mitchell Elliott, CBE was an English film, television and theatre actor with over 120 film and television credits...
) are assigned by American businessman Walter Donovan (Julian Glover
Julian Glover
Julian Wyatt Glover is a British actor best known for such roles as General Maximilian Veers in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, the Bond villain Aristotle Kristatos in For Your Eyes Only, and Walter Donovan in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.-Personal life:Glover was born in...
) to find the Holy Grail
Holy Grail
The Holy Grail is a sacred object figuring in literature and certain Christian traditions, most often identified with the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper and said to possess miraculous powers...
. They are teamed up with Dr. Elsa Schneider (Alison Doody
Alison Doody
-Early life:The youngest of three children, she was born in Dublin, Ireland. Her mother, Joan, was a beauty therapist, and her father, Patrick, worked in the property business and farmed...
), following on from where Indiana's estranged father Henry (Sean Connery
Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
) left off before he disappeared. It turns out Donovan and Elsa are in league with the Nazis, who captured Henry in order to get Indiana to help them find the Grail. However, Indiana recovers his father's diary filled with his research, and manages to rescue him before finding the location of the Grail. Both Donovan and Elsa fall to the temptation of the Grail, while Indiana and Henry realize that their relationship with each other is more important than finding the relic.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, led by Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett
Catherine Élise "Cate" Blanchett is an Australian actress. She came to international attention for her role as Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 biopic film Elizabeth, for which she won British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Golden Globe Awards, and earned her first Academy Award...
) for the crystal skull
Crystal skull
The crystal skulls are a number of human skull hardstone carvings made of clear or milky quartz rock, known in art history as "rock crystal", claimed to be pre-Columbian Mesoamerican artifacts by their alleged finders. However, none of the specimens made available for scientific study have been...
. Indy's journey takes him across Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, and the forest of the Amazon
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. In the film. Indiana is faced with betrayal by one of his best friends, Mac (Ray Winstone
Ray Winstone
Raymond Andrew "Ray" Winstone is an English film and television actor. He is mostly known for his "tough guy" roles, beginning with that of Carlin in the 1979 film Scum and as Will Scarlet in the cult television adventure series Robin of Sherwood. He has also become well known as a voice over...
), is introduced to a greaser named Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf
Shia LaBeouf
Shia Saide LaBeouf is an American actor who became known among younger audiences for his part in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens and made his film debut in Holes . In 2007, he starred as the leads in Disturbia and Transformers...
), who turns out to be his son (real name revealed to be Henry Jones III), and is reunited with his old flame Marion Ravenwood.
Development
In 1973, George LucasGeorge Lucas
George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
wrote The Adventures of Indiana Smith. Like Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
, it was an opportunity to create a modern version of the serials of the 1930s and 1940s. Lucas discussed the concept with Philip Kaufman
Philip Kaufman
Philip Kaufman is an American film director and screenwriter. His movies have adapted novels of widely different types – from Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being to Michael Crichton’s Rising Sun; from Tom Wolfe’s heroic epic The Right Stuff to the erotic writings of Anaïs Nin’s...
, who worked with him for several weeks and came up with the Ark of the Covenant
Ark of the Covenant
The Ark of the Covenant , also known as the Ark of the Testimony, is a chest described in Book of Exodus as solely containing the Tablets of Stone on which the Ten Commandments were inscribed...
as the plot device
Plot device
A plot device is an object or character in a story whose sole purpose is to advance the plot of the story, or alternatively to overcome some difficulty in the plot....
. The project was stalled when Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
hired Kaufman to direct The Outlaw Josey Wales
The Outlaw Josey Wales
The Outlaw Josey Wales is a 1976 American revisionist Western film set during and after the end of the American Civil War. It was directed by and starred Clint Eastwood , with Chief Dan George, Sondra Locke, Sam Bottoms, and Geraldine Keams.The film was adapted by Sonia Chernus and Philip Kaufman...
. In May 1977, Lucas was in Maui
Maui
The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the state of Hawaii and is the largest of Maui County's four islands, bigger than Lānai, Kahoolawe, and Molokai. In 2010, Maui had a population of 144,444,...
, trying to escape the enormous success of Star Wars
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars, is a 1977 American epic space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films complete the original trilogy, while a prequel trilogy completes the...
. Friend and colleague Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
was also there, holidaying from work on Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a 1977 science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, and Cary Guffey...
. Spielberg told Lucas he was interested in making a James Bond film
James Bond (film series)
The James Bond film series is a British series of motion pictures based on the fictional character of MI6 agent James Bond , who originally appeared in a series of books by Ian Fleming. Earlier films were based on Fleming's novels and short stories, followed later by films with original storylines...
. Lucas then told him of an idea "better than James Bond", explaining the plot of Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by George Lucas, and starring Harrison Ford. It is the first film in the Indiana Jones franchise...
. Spielberg loved it, calling it "a James Bond film without the hardware", though he had the character's surname
Surname
A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...
changed to "Jones
Jones (surname)
Jones is a common Celtic Welsh surname based on the English version of the parent's name ending in -S. In 1881 people with this surname were largely confined to Wales. By 1998 many Welsh people had migrated to cities in England particularly those adjacent to Wales. The earliest record of the name...
". Spielberg and Lucas made a deal with Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
for five films about Indiana.
Spielberg and Lucas aimed to make Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a 1984 American adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the second film in the Indiana Jones franchise and prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark . After arriving in India, Indiana Jones is asked by a desperate village to find a mystical stone...
much darker, because of their personal moods following their respective break-ups and divorces. Lucas made the film a prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
as he didn't want the Nazis to be the villains again. He had ideas regarding the Monkey King and a haunted castle, but wound up creating the Sankara Stones. He hired Willard Huyck
Willard Huyck
Willard Huyck is an American screenwriter, director and producer, best known for his association with George Lucas. They met as students at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, and along with others, they became members of a renowned group of amateur filmmakers called The Dirty Dozen...
and Gloria Katz
Gloria Katz
Gloria Katz is an American screenwriter and film producer, best known for her association with George Lucas. Along with her husband Willard Huyck, Katz has created the screenplays of films including American Graffiti, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and the notorious Howard the Duck.-...
to write the script as he knew of their interest in Indian culture. The major scenes that were dropped from Raiders of the Lost Ark were included in this film: an escape using a giant rolling gong as a shield, a fall out of a plane in a raft, and a mine cart chase. For the third film, Spielberg revisited the Monkey King and haunted castle concepts, before Lucas suggested the Holy Grail
Holy Grail
The Holy Grail is a sacred object figuring in literature and certain Christian traditions, most often identified with the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper and said to possess miraculous powers...
. Spielberg had previously rejected it as too ethereal, but then came up with telling a father-son story. He thought, "The Grail that everybody seeks could be a metaphor for a son seeking reconciliation with a father and a father seeking reconciliation with a son."
Following the 1989 release of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 American adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, from a story co-written by executive producer George Lucas. It is the third film in the Indiana Jones franchise. Harrison Ford reprises the title role and Sean Connery plays Indiana's father, Henry...
, Lucas let the series end as he felt he could not think of a good plot device to drive the next installment, and chose instead to produce The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 4, 1992, to July 24, 1993. The series explores the childhood and youth of the fictional character Indiana Jones and primarily stars Sean Patrick Flanery and Corey Carrier as the title character, with...
, which explored the character in his early years. Ford played Indiana in one episode, narrating his adventures in 1920 Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. When Lucas shot Ford's role in December 1992, he realized the scene opened up the possibility of a film with an older Indiana set in the 1950s. The film could reflect a science fiction 1950s B-movie
B movies (Transition in the 1950s)
The 1950s mark a significant change in the definition of the B movie. The transformation of the film industry due to court rulings that brought an end to many long-standing distribution practices as well as the challenge of television led to major changes in U.S. cinema at the exhibition level...
, with aliens as the plot device. Ford disliked the new angle, telling Lucas "No way am I being in a Steve Spielberg movie like that." Spielberg himself, who depicted aliens in Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a 1977 science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, and Cary Guffey...
and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Melissa Mathison and starring Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, and Peter Coyote...
, resisted it. Lucas came up with a story, which Jeb Stuart turned into a script from October 1993 to May 1994. Lucas wanted Indiana to get married, which would allow Henry Jones Sr. to return, expressing concern over whether his son is happy with what he has accomplished. After he learned that Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
was interested in psychic warfare, he decided to have Russians as the villains and the aliens to have psychic powers. Following Stuart's next draft, Lucas hired Last Crusade writer Jeffrey Boam
Jeffrey Boam
Jeffrey David Boam was an American screenwriter and film producer. He is known for writing the screenplays for Lethal Weapon 2 and Lethal Weapon 3, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Innerspace, and The Lost Boys. Boam's films had a cumulative gross of over US $1 billion. He was educated at...
to write the next three versions, the last of which was completed in March 1996. Three months later, Independence Day
Independence Day (film)
Independence Day is a 1996 science fiction film about an alien invasion of Earth, focusing on a disparate group of individuals and families as they converge in the Nevada desert and, along with the rest of the human population, participate in a last-chance counterattack on July 4 – the same...
was released, and Spielberg told Lucas he would not make another alien invasion film. Lucas decided to focus on the Star Wars prequels.
In 2000, Spielberg's son asked when the next Indiana Jones film would be released, which made him interested in reviving the project. The same year, Ford, Lucas, Spielberg, Frank Marshall, and Kathleen Kennedy met during the American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
's tribute to Ford, and decided they wanted to enjoy the experience of making an Indiana Jones film again. Spielberg also found returning to the series a respite from his many dark films during this period. Spielberg and Lucas discussed the central idea of a B-movie involving aliens, and Lucas suggested using the crystal skull
Crystal skull
The crystal skulls are a number of human skull hardstone carvings made of clear or milky quartz rock, known in art history as "rock crystal", claimed to be pre-Columbian Mesoamerican artifacts by their alleged finders. However, none of the specimens made available for scientific study have been...
s to ground the idea. Lucas found those artifacts as fascinating as the Ark, and had intended to feature them for a Young Indiana Jones episode before the show's cancellation. M. Night Shyamalan
M. Night Shyamalan
Manoj Nelliyattu Shyamalan,known professionally as M. Night Shyamalan, is an Indian-born American screenwriter, film director, and producer known for making movies with contemporary supernatural plots that climax with a twist ending. He is also known for filming his movies in and around...
was hired to write for an intended 2002 shoot, but he was overwhelmed writing a sequel to a film he loved like Raiders, and claimed it was difficult to get Ford, Spielberg, and Lucas to focus. Stephen Gaghan
Stephen Gaghan
Stephen Gaghan is an American screenwriter and director. He is noted for writing the screenplay for Steven Soderbergh's film Traffic, based on a Channel 4 series, for which he won the Academy Award, as well as Syriana which he wrote and directed.-Childhood and education:Born in either Louisville,...
and Tom Stoppard
Tom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, knighted in 1997. He has written prolifically for TV, radio, film and stage, finding prominence with plays such as Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Professional Foul, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and...
were also approached.
Frank Darabont
Frank Darabont
Frank Darabont is a Hungarian-American film director, screenwriter and producer who has been nominated for three Academy Awards and a Golden Globe. He has directed the films The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, and The Mist, all based on stories by Stephen King...
, who wrote various Young Indiana Jones episodes, was hired to write in May 2002. His script, entitled Indiana Jones and the City of Gods, was set in the 1950s, with ex-Nazis
Ex-Nazis
The list of notable people who were at some point members of the Nazi Party, before it was declared illegal and disbanded upon the victory of the Allies. After 1945 many former party members had to go through a process of denazification and some were indicted and convicted at the Nuremberg Trials,...
pursuing Jones. Spielberg conceived the idea because of real life figures such as Juan Perón
Juan Perón
Juan Domingo Perón was an Argentine military officer, and politician. Perón was three times elected as President of Argentina though he only managed to serve one full term, after serving in several government positions, including the Secretary of Labor and the Vice Presidency...
in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, who protected Nazi war criminals. Darabont claimed Spielberg loved the script, but Lucas had issues with it, and decided to take over writing himself. Lucas and Spielberg acknowledged the 1950s setting could not ignore the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, and the Russians were more plausible villains. Spielberg decided he could not satirize the Nazis after directing Schindler's List
Schindler's List
Schindler's List is a 1993 American film about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg, and based on the novel Schindler's Ark...
, while Ford felt "We plum[b] wore the Nazis out." Darabont's main contribution was reintroducing Marion Ravenwood
Marion Ravenwood
Marion Ravenwood Jones is a fictional character that first appeared in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark. Played by Karen Allen, she enters the story when Indiana Jones visits her in Nepal, needing her help — specifically, he needs an artifact in her possession, originally obtained by her...
as Indiana's love interest, but gave them a 13-year old daughter, which Spielberg decided was too similar to The Lost World: Jurassic Park
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
The Lost World: Jurassic Park is a 1997 science fiction thriller film, directed by Steven Spielberg. The film was produced by Bonnie Curtis, Kathleen Kennedy, Gerald R. Molen and Colin Wilson...
.
Jeff Nathanson
Jeff Nathanson
Jeff Nathanson is an American film writer, film producer, and director.He is best known for his work on the Rush Hour series, Catch Me If You Can, The Terminal, and The Last Shot, and has also co-written a story draft for the film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull with George Lucas...
met with Spielberg and Lucas in August 2004, and turned in the next drafts in October and November 2005, titled The Atomic Ants. David Koepp
David Koepp
-Career:As a writer, Koepp has worked on such blockbuster Hollywood films as Jurassic Park, Mission Impossible, and Spider-Man. Koepp had a cameo as the "Unlucky Bastard" in The Lost World: Jurassic Park, in which he was serving as Writer and Second Unit Director.His work as a director has not had...
continued on from there, giving his script the subtitle Destroyer of Worlds, based on the Robert Oppenheimer
Robert Oppenheimer
Julius Robert Oppenheimer was an American theoretical physicist and professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley. Along with Enrico Fermi, he is often called the "father of the atomic bomb" for his role in the Manhattan Project, the World War II project that developed the first...
quote. It was changed to Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, as Spielberg found it more inviting a title and actually named the plot device. Koepp wanted to make Mutt into a nerd, but Lucas refused, explaining he had to resemble Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
in The Wild One
The Wild One
The Wild One is a 1953 outlaw biker film directed by László Benedek and produced by Stanley Kramer. It is famed for Marlon Brando's iconic portrayal of the gang leader Johnny Strabler.-Basis:...
; "he needs to be what Indiana Jones' father thought of [him] – the curse returns in the form of his own son – he's everything a father can't stand". Koepp collaborated with Lawrence Kasdan on the film's "love dialogue".
Future
The introduction of Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeoufShia LaBeouf
Shia Saide LaBeouf is an American actor who became known among younger audiences for his part in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens and made his film debut in Holes . In 2007, he starred as the leads in Disturbia and Transformers...
) in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has led to speculation that he will take over the franchise from Ford. In an interview with IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
, "Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
indicated that LaBeouf has to make multiple Transformers movies before he can move over and take on the fedora and bullwhip of Indiana Jones." The actor himself said, "Am I into it? Who wouldn't be? I don't think that's reality. It's a fun rumor." Ford said he would return for a fifth film if it doesn't take another twenty years to develop, while Spielberg responded it would happen "only if you [the audience] want more". In an interview with Time, when asked about passing the fedora to Shia in the next Indy movie, Ford said, "What are you talking about? It's mine. I would love to do another Indiana Jones movie. George Lucas is working on an idea now. Shia can get his own hat. I earned that hat."
George Lucas made another suggestion that there would be a fifth film. While at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival
2008 Cannes Film Festival
The 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival was held from May 14 to May 25, 2008. In addition to films selected for competition this year, major Hollywood productions such as Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Kung Fu Panda had their world premieres at the festival.The British press...
, he revealed his idea "to make Shia LaBeouf the lead character next time and have Harrison Ford come back like Sean Connery
Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
did in the last movie [Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade]." At the time Last Crusade was filmed, Connery was still only 58. Lucas also said that age need not be a factor, as Ford was "65 and did everything in this movie [Crystal Skull]. The old chemistry is there, and it's not like he's an old man. He's incredibly agile; he looks even better than he did 20 years ago, if you ask me." In August 2008, Lucas was researching potential plot devices, and stated Spielberg was more open to the idea of the fifth film. He also changed his mind about continuing the series with a spin-off, joking "Indiana Jones is Indiana Jones. Harrison Ford is Indiana Jones. If it was Mutt Williams it would be Mutt Williams and the Search for Elvis
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
or something." Two months later, Ford stated that he would not return if the fifth film was an animated film like The Clone Wars
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (film)
Star Wars: The Clone Wars is a 2008 CGI animated science fiction/action film that takes place within the Star Wars saga, leading into the TV series of the same name. The film is set in the same time period as the 2003 Clone Wars television series...
, because "I'd hate to see it reduced in any way from the movies that we have done and the way we have done them." He also called Lucas' concept for the fifth film "crazy but great".
When asked how being married to Marion Ravenwood
Marion Ravenwood
Marion Ravenwood Jones is a fictional character that first appeared in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark. Played by Karen Allen, she enters the story when Indiana Jones visits her in Nepal, needing her help — specifically, he needs an artifact in her possession, originally obtained by her...
and having a son would affect the character in a fifth film, Ford only replied "He's seen something. Remember those are the only witness to what he's seen. That's kind of interesting." In January 2010, Ford said, "I think it would be interesting to advance the understanding of the character, as we always have had that ambition throughout the series. I think it would be interesting to deepen the relationship between he and his son and play on that relationship. ... It's full of opportunity. The series is full of opportunity."
The possibility of Indiana Jones 5 continued to be discussed through 2009 and 2010. Reports speculated in June 2009 that the fifth installment would start filming in 2011 and involved a plot that revolved around the Bermuda Triangle
Bermuda Triangle
The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean where a number of aircraft and surface vessels allegedly disappeared under mysterious circumstances....
, although these rumors were later clarified as "completely false" by Frank Marshall on his Twitter page. Speaking to BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
journalist Lizo Mzimba
Lizo Mzimba
Lizo Mzimba is the Entertainment Correspondent for BBC News.-Early life:He attended the independent Solihull School and The University of Birmingham...
in June 2009, LaBeouf confirmed that "Steven [Spielberg] just said that he cracked the story on it [the fifth film], I think they're gearing that up." Lucas stated he was working on the film as of December 2009. Most recently, in November 2010, Ford said that he and Spielberg are waiting for Lucas to present an idea to them. In March 2011, The Deadbolt interviewed Karen Allen and she was asked about the fifth film's status. "What I know is that there’s a story that they like," said Allen, "which is a huge step forward. I heard this about six months ago, that they have a story that they like and they’re working on it."
Box office performance
| Film | Release date | Box office revenue | Box office ranking | Budget | Ref | |||
| North America | Foreign | Worldwide | All time domestic | All time worldwide | ||||
| Raiders of the Lost Ark | June 12, 1981 (July 16, 1982)(R) (March 25, 1983)(R) |
$242,374,454 (R) | $141,766,000 | $384,140,454 | #69 #17 (A) |
#147 | $18,000,000 | |
| Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom | May 23, 1984 | $179,870,271 | $153,237,000 | $333,107,271 | #144 #84 (A) |
#205 | $28,000,000 | |
| Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | May 24, 1989 | $197,171,806 | $277,000,000 | $474,171,806 | #118 #95 (A) |
#99 | $48,000,000 | |
| Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | May 22, 2008 | $317,101,119 | $469,534,914 | $786,636,033 | #27 #121 (A) |
#32 | $185,000,000 | |
| Total | $936,517,650 | $1,041,537,914 | $1,978,055,564 | $279,000,000 | ||||
List indicator(s)
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Critical reaction
| Film | Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance... |
Metacritic Metacritic Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,... |
Yahoo Movies | The Internet Movie Database | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Cream of the Crop | ||||
| Raiders of the Lost Ark | 94% (50 reviews) | 67% (6 reviews) | 90 (11 reviews) | A (7 reviews) | 8.7 (246,350 votes) #22 of Top 250 |
| Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom | 85% (60 reviews) | 57% (7 reviews) | 7.5 (111,861 votes) | ||
| Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | 89% (55 reviews) | 71% (7 reviews) | 65 (14 reviews) | A- (5 reviews) | 8.3 (174,425 votes) #103 of Top 250 |
| Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | 77% (249 reviews) | 62% (42 reviews) | 65 (40 reviews) | B (15 reviews) | 6.5 (136,754 votes) |
| Average Ratings | 86% | 64% | 73 | 92% | 7.775 out of 10 |
Academy Awards
| Award | Awards Won | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raiders of the Lost Ark | Temple of Doom | Last Crusade | Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | |
| Best Art Direction Academy Award for Best Art Direction The Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999... |
Win | |||
| Best Sound | Win | Nomination | ||
| Best Cinematography Academy Award for Best Cinematography The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work in one particular motion picture.-History:... |
Nomination | |||
| Best Director | Nomination | |||
| Best Film Editing | Win | |||
| Best Original Score Academy Award for Best Original Score The Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:... |
Nomination | Nomination | Nomination | |
| Best Picture Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only... |
Nomination | |||
| Best Sound Effects Editing | Win | |||
| Best Visual Effects | Win | Win | ||
| Special Achievement Award for Sound Effects Editing | Win (Ben Burtt Ben Burtt Benjamin "Ben" Burtt, Jr. is an American sound designer who has worked on various films including: the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film series, Invasion of the Body Snatchers , E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial , and WALL-E... and Richard L. Anderson) |
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Television
A TV series entitled The Young Indiana Jones ChroniclesThe Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 4, 1992, to July 24, 1993. The series explores the childhood and youth of the fictional character Indiana Jones and primarily stars Sean Patrick Flanery and Corey Carrier as the title character, with...
(1992–1996) featured three incarnations of Indy: Sean Patrick Flanery
Sean Patrick Flanery
Sean Patrick Flanery is an American actor known for such roles as Connor MacManus in The Boondock Saints, Greg Stillson in The Dead Zone and for portraying Indiana Jones in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, as well as Bobby Dagen in Saw 3D.He is currently known for his role as Sam Gibson on The...
played Indy aged 16–20; Corey Carrier
Corey Carrier
Corey Thomas Carrier is an American former child actor. He is also known as just "Core".Carrier was born in Middleborough, Massachusetts to Thomas and Carleen. He has a younger sister named Bethany. He attended an acting school at The Priscilla Beach Children's Theatre Workshop...
played the 8- to 10-year-old Indy in several episodes; and George Hall
George Hall (actor)
George Hall was a theater, TV, and film actor best remembered by his role as the 93 year old Indiana Jones in the TV series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles . He debuted on Broadway in 1946. He had a memorable and engaging role as Mr...
narrated the show as the 93-year-old Indy, who bookended each episode. Lucas began developing the series in 1990 as "edutainment
Edutainment
Edutainment is a form of entertainment designed to educate as well as to amuse.-Overview:...
" that would be more cerebral than the films. The show was his first collaboration with producer Rick McCallum
Rick McCallum
Richard "Rick" McCallum is a German-born American film producer mostly known for his work on the The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles as well as the Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition and prequel trilogy...
, and he wrote the stories for each episode. Writers and directors on the show included Carrie Fisher
Carrie Fisher
Carrie Frances Fisher is an American actress, novelist, screenwriter, and lecturer. She is most famous for her portrayal of Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy, her bestselling novel Postcards from the Edge, for which she wrote the screenplay to the film of the same name, and her...
, Frank Darabont
Frank Darabont
Frank Darabont is a Hungarian-American film director, screenwriter and producer who has been nominated for three Academy Awards and a Golden Globe. He has directed the films The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, and The Mist, all based on stories by Stephen King...
, Vic Armstrong
Vic Armstrong
Victor Monroe Armstrong is a BAFTA winning British film director and stunt double -- the world's most prolific according to the Guinness Book of Records...
, Ben Burtt
Ben Burtt
Benjamin "Ben" Burtt, Jr. is an American sound designer who has worked on various films including: the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film series, Invasion of the Body Snatchers , E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial , and WALL-E...
, Terry Jones
Terry Jones
Terence Graham Parry Jones is a Welsh comedian, screenwriter, actor, film director, children's author, popular historian, political commentator, and TV documentary host. He is best known as a member of the Monty Python comedy team....
, Nicolas Roeg
Nicolas Roeg
Nicolas Jack Roeg, CBE, BSC is an English film director and cinematographer.-Life and career:Roeg was born in London, the son of Mabel Gertrude and Jack Nicolas Roeg...
, Mike Newell
Mike Newell (director)
Michael Cormac "Mike" Newell is an English director and producer of motion pictures for the screen and for television. After the release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in 2005, Newell became the third most commercially successful British director in recent years, behind Christopher Nolan...
and Joe Johnston
Joe Johnston
Joseph Eggleston "Joe" Johnston II is an American film director and former effects artist best known for such effects-driven movies as Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Jumanji, The Rocketeer, Jurassic Park III, the period drama October Sky, The Wolfman, and Captain America: The First Avenger.- Life and...
. In the Chronicles, Indy crosses path with many historical figures, played by stars such as Daniel Craig
Daniel Craig
Daniel Wroughton Craig is an English actor. His early film roles include Elizabeth, The Power of One, A Kid in King Arthur's Court and the television episodes Sharpe's Eagle, Zorro and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Daredevils of the Desert...
, Christopher Lee
Christopher Lee
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
, Bob Peck
Bob Peck
Bob Peck was an English stage, television and film actor.-Early life:He went to Leeds Modern School in Lawnswood...
, Jeffrey Wright, Marc Warren
Marc Warren
Marc Warren is an English actor, known for his British television roles as Danny Blue in Hustle, Dougie Raymond in The Vice and Dominic Foy in State of Play.-Career:...
, Catherine Zeta-Jones
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Catherine Zeta-Jones, CBE, is a British actress. She began her career on stage at an early age. After starring in a number of United Kingdom and United States television films and small roles in films, she came to prominence with roles in Hollywood movies such as the 1998 action film The Mask of...
, Elizabeth Hurley
Elizabeth Hurley
Elizabeth Jane Hurley is an English model and actress who became known as a girlfriend of Hugh Grant in the 1990s. In 1994, as Grant became the focus of worldwide media attention due to the global box office success of his film Four Weddings and a Funeral, Hurley accompanied him to the film's Los...
, Anne Heche
Anne Heche
Anne Celeste Heche is an American actress, director, and screenwriter. She started her career on the daytime soap opera Another World, for which she won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1991. Heche gradually landed supporting roles in feature films, and in 1997 appeared in I Know What You Did Last Summer,...
, Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...
, Julian Fellowes
Julian Fellowes
Julian Alexander Kitchener-Fellowes, Baron Fellowes of West Stafford, DL , known as Julian Fellowes, is an English actor, novelist, film director and screenwriter, as well as a Conservative peer.-Early life:...
, Timothy Spall
Timothy Spall
Timothy Leonard Spall, OBE is an English character actor and occasional presenter.-Early life:Spall, the third of four sons, was born in Battersea, London. His mother, Sylvia R. , was a hairdresser, and his father, Joseph L. Spall, was a postal worker...
and even Harrison Ford as the 50-year-old Indy in a season two episode (taking the usual place of Hall).
The show was ambitiously shot in over 25 countries for over 150 weeks. Season one shot from March 1991 to March 1992; the second season began two months later and wrapped in April 1993. The American Broadcasting Company
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
was unsure of Lucas's cerebral approach, and attempted to advertise the show as an action-adventure like the films. Ratings were decent if unspectacular, and ABC was nervous enough to put it on hiatus after six episodes until September 1992. With only four episodes left of the second season to air, ABC eventually sold the show to the Family Channel; they changed the format from 50-minute episodes to 90-minute TV movies. Filming for the final four episodes took place from January 1994 to May 1996. The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles received mixed reception from fans, although it won 10 Emmy Awards out of 23 nominations, and also earned a 1994 Golden Globe nomination for Best Drama series. It was an experimentation ground in digital effects for Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm Limited is an American film production company founded by George Lucas in 1971, based in San Francisco, California. Lucas is the company's current chairman and CEO, and Micheline Chau is the president and COO....
.
The series was released on home video in VHS and DVD formats. Lucas had been working for some time on drastically reediting and restructuring the show for a home video release. Major structural changes were made to the show, including the complete removal of the 93-year-old Jones 'bookend' sections. The DVD boxset was released to tie in with the theatrical debut of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Amongst other extras, the discs include approximately 100 new historical featurettes.
Characters
This is a list of characters who have appeared in the Indiana Jones film franchise.| Character | Film/TV Series | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raiders of the Lost Ark Raiders of the Lost Ark Raiders of the Lost Ark is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by George Lucas, and starring Harrison Ford. It is the first film in the Indiana Jones franchise... |
Temple of Doom Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a 1984 American adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the second film in the Indiana Jones franchise and prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark . After arriving in India, Indiana Jones is asked by a desperate village to find a mystical stone... |
The Last Crusade Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 American adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, from a story co-written by executive producer George Lucas. It is the third film in the Indiana Jones franchise. Harrison Ford reprises the title role and Sean Connery plays Indiana's father, Henry... |
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 4, 1992, to July 24, 1993. The series explores the childhood and youth of the fictional character Indiana Jones and primarily stars Sean Patrick Flanery and Corey Carrier as the title character, with... |
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | |
| Indiana Jones Indiana Jones Colonel Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., Ph.D. is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials... |
Harrison Ford Harrison Ford Harrison Ford is an American film actor and producer. He is famous for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the title character of the Indiana Jones film series. Ford is also known for his roles as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner, John Book in Witness and Jack Ryan in... |
Harrison Ford Harrison Ford Harrison Ford is an American film actor and producer. He is famous for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the title character of the Indiana Jones film series. Ford is also known for his roles as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner, John Book in Witness and Jack Ryan in... River Phoenix River Phoenix River Jude Phoenix was an American film actor, musician, and teen icon. He was the oldest brother of fellow actors Rain, Joaquin, Liberty, and Summer Phoenix.Phoenix began acting at age 10 in television commercials... (young) |
Sean Patrick Flanery Sean Patrick Flanery Sean Patrick Flanery is an American actor known for such roles as Connor MacManus in The Boondock Saints, Greg Stillson in The Dead Zone and for portraying Indiana Jones in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, as well as Bobby Dagen in Saw 3D.He is currently known for his role as Sam Gibson on The... Corey Carrier Corey Carrier Corey Thomas Carrier is an American former child actor. He is also known as just "Core".Carrier was born in Middleborough, Massachusetts to Thomas and Carleen. He has a younger sister named Bethany. He attended an acting school at The Priscilla Beach Children's Theatre Workshop... George Hall George Hall (actor) George Hall was a theater, TV, and film actor best remembered by his role as the 93 year old Indiana Jones in the TV series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles . He debuted on Broadway in 1946. He had a memorable and engaging role as Mr... Harrison Ford Harrison Ford Harrison Ford is an American film actor and producer. He is famous for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the title character of the Indiana Jones film series. Ford is also known for his roles as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner, John Book in Witness and Jack Ryan in... |
Harrison Ford Harrison Ford Harrison Ford is an American film actor and producer. He is famous for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the title character of the Indiana Jones film series. Ford is also known for his roles as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner, John Book in Witness and Jack Ryan in... |
|
| Marcus Brody | Denholm Elliott Denholm Elliott Denholm Mitchell Elliott, CBE was an English film, television and theatre actor with over 120 film and television credits... |
Denholm Elliott Denholm Elliott Denholm Mitchell Elliott, CBE was an English film, television and theatre actor with over 120 film and television credits... |
Denholm Elliott Denholm Elliott Denholm Mitchell Elliott, CBE was an English film, television and theatre actor with over 120 film and television credits... (photo) |
||
| Marion Ravenwood Marion Ravenwood Marion Ravenwood Jones is a fictional character that first appeared in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark. Played by Karen Allen, she enters the story when Indiana Jones visits her in Nepal, needing her help — specifically, he needs an artifact in her possession, originally obtained by her... |
Karen Allen Karen Allen Karen Jane Allen is an American actress best known for her role as Marion Ravenwood in Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull... |
Karen Allen Karen Allen Karen Jane Allen is an American actress best known for her role as Marion Ravenwood in Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull... |
|||
| Sallah Sallah Sallah Mohammed Faisel el-Kahir, better known as Sallah , is a fictional character played by John Rhys-Davies in two of the four Indiana Jones films: Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade... |
John Rhys-Davies John Rhys-Davies John Rhys-Davies is a Welsh actor and voice actor. He is perhaps best known for playing the charismatic Arab excavator Sallah in the Indiana Jones films and the dwarf Gimli in The Lord of the Rings trilogy... |
John Rhys-Davies John Rhys-Davies John Rhys-Davies is a Welsh actor and voice actor. He is perhaps best known for playing the charismatic Arab excavator Sallah in the Indiana Jones films and the dwarf Gimli in The Lord of the Rings trilogy... |
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| Henry Jones, Sr. Henry Jones, Sr. Professor Henry Walton Jones, Sr. is a fictional character in the Indiana Jones franchise. He is the estranged father of Indiana Jones, who is captured by the Nazis while searching for the Holy Grail to act as bait for Indy.... |
Sean Connery Sean Connery Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy... Alex Hyde-White Alex Hyde-White Alex Punch Hyde-White is an English born, US raised film and television actor. He is sometimes credited as Alex Hyde White. In 1978 he signed with Universal Pictures as one of the last "contract players" in Hollywood, in a group that included Lindsay Wagner, Andrew Stevens and Sharon... (young) |
Lloyd Owen Lloyd Owen Lloyd Owen is a British actor of Welsh descent. Trained at the National Youth Theatre and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, he is probably best known for his portrayal of Indiana Jones's father Professor Dr. Henry Jones, Sr... |
Sean Connery Sean Connery Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy... (photo) |
||
| Toht | Ronald Lacey Ronald Lacey Ronald Lacey was an English actor. He made numerous television and film appearances over a 30 year period and is perhaps best remembered for his villainous roles in Hollywood films, most famously Major Arnold Toht in Raiders of the Lost Ark.-Career:Lacey attended Harrow Weald Grammar School and... |
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| René Belloq | Paul Freeman | ||||
| Willie Scott | Kate Capshaw Kate Capshaw Kate Capshaw is an American actress. She is known for her role as Willie Scott in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. She is married to Steven Spielberg.-Early life:... |
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| Short Round | Jonathan Ke Quan | ||||
| Mola Ram | Amrish Puri Amrish Puri Amrish Singh Puri , ; 22 June 1932 – 12 January 2005 was an iconic theater and film actor from India, who was a key player in the Indian theater movement that picked up steam in the 1960s. He worked with notable playwrights of the time, such as Satyadev Dubey and Girish Karnad... |
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| Walter Donovan | Julian Glover Julian Glover Julian Wyatt Glover is a British actor best known for such roles as General Maximilian Veers in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, the Bond villain Aristotle Kristatos in For Your Eyes Only, and Walter Donovan in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.-Personal life:Glover was born in... |
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| Elsa Schneider | Alison Doody Alison Doody -Early life:The youngest of three children, she was born in Dublin, Ireland. Her mother, Joan, was a beauty therapist, and her father, Patrick, worked in the property business and farmed... |
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| Anna Jones | Ruth de Sosa | ||||
| Helen Seymour | Margaret Tyzack Margaret Tyzack Margaret Maud Tyzack, CBE was a British actress.-Early life:Tyzack was born in Essex, England, the daughter of Doris and Thomas Edward Tyzack. She grew up in West Ham... |
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| Remy Baudouin | Ronny Coutteure Ronny Coutteure Ronny Coutteure was a Belgian actor. He worked in cinema, radio, television, opera and theatre.He was a celebrity in his home country and in France and is most famous internationally for his supporting role of Remy in the The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles... |
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| Mac | Ray Winstone Ray Winstone Raymond Andrew "Ray" Winstone is an English film and television actor. He is mostly known for his "tough guy" roles, beginning with that of Carlin in the 1979 film Scum and as Will Scarlet in the cult television adventure series Robin of Sherwood. He has also become well known as a voice over... |
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| Irina Spalko | Cate Blanchett Cate Blanchett Catherine Élise "Cate" Blanchett is an Australian actress. She came to international attention for her role as Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 biopic film Elizabeth, for which she won British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Golden Globe Awards, and earned her first Academy Award... |
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| Mutt Williams | Shia LaBeouf Shia LaBeouf Shia Saide LaBeouf is an American actor who became known among younger audiences for his part in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens and made his film debut in Holes . In 2007, he starred as the leads in Disturbia and Transformers... |
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| Harold Oxley | John Hurt John Hurt John Vincent Hurt, CBE is an English actor, known for his leading roles as John Merrick in The Elephant Man, Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four, Mr. Braddock in The Hit, Stephen Ward in Scandal, Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant and An Englishman in New York... |
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Adult novels
The first novelizationNovelization
A novelization is a novel that is written based on some other media story form rather than as an original work.Novelizations of films usually add background material not found in the original work to flesh out the story, because novels are generally longer than screenplays...
was of Raiders of the Lost Ark, written by Campbell Black and published by Ballantine Books
Ballantine Books
Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann AG in 1998 and remains part of that company today. Ballantine's logo is a...
in April 1981. It was followed by Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, written by James Kahn
James Kahn
James Kahn is an American medical specialist and writer, best known for his novelization of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Born in Chicago on December 30, 1947, Kahn received a degree in medical studies from the University of Chicago. His post-graduate training, specializing in Emergency...
and published by Ballantine in May 1984. Finally, they published Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in May 1989. It was the first Indy book by Rob MacGregor. MacGregor was awarded the job after helping an editor on another project. Neither the editor nor LucasFilm
Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm Limited is an American film production company founded by George Lucas in 1971, based in San Francisco, California. Lucas is the company's current chairman and CEO, and Micheline Chau is the president and COO....
were aware of MacGregor's interest in history and archaeology. A fan of the first two films, MacGregor admitted writing the novelization made him "somewhat disappointed with [the third]. That’s because I took the script and expanded it to novel length [and] adding scenes while Spielberg took the same script and trimmed a few scenes to tighten the story. So, for me, it was all very familiar when I saw the movie, but it seemed somehow to be missing something."
German Fantasy and SF author Wolfgang Hohlbein
Wolfgang Hohlbein
Wolfgang Hohlbein is a German writer of science fiction, fantasy and horror fiction who lives near Neuss, North Rhine-Westphalia. His wife, Heike, is also a writer and often works with her husband. She often comes up with the story ideas and therefore is generally credited as co-author...
wrote eight novels from 1990—1993 published by the Goldmann Verlag
Goldmann (publisher)
Goldmann is one of the largest publishing houses in Germany.Founded on 21 June 1922 by Wilhelm Goldmann in Leipzig, the first works to be published were the detective stories of Edgar Wallace....
, but none of these were translated into English. Hohlbein set his books from 1938—1944, except for the first which he set in 1929 and 1932. Lucas had no involvement in this series.
Meanwhile, Lucas asked Rob MacGregor to continue writing original novels for Bantam Books
Bantam Books
Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by Random House, the German media corporation subsidiary of Bertelsmann; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. Kramer, and Ian and Betty Ballantine...
. They chose to make them prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
s set in the 1920s (after Indy graduates from college), so to not interfere with the films. Lucas only permitted Marcus Brody to appear. Lucas also told MacGregor to base the books on real myths, but except for the deletion of a sex scene, MacGregor was given total creative freedom. Barring Stonehenge
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...
, MacGregor chose locations he had visited in the past. His six books -- Indiana Jones and the Peril at Delphi, Indiana Jones and the Dance of the Giants, Indiana Jones and the Seven Veils, Indiana Jones and the Genesis Deluge, Indiana Jones and the Unicorn's Legacy, and Indiana Jones and the Interior World -- were published from February 1991—November 1992. The fourth book, The Genesis Deluge (Feb 1992), featuring Noah's Ark
Noah's Ark
Noah's Ark is a vessel appearing in the Book of Genesis and the Quran . These narratives describe the construction of the ark by Noah at God's command to save himself, his family, and the world's animals from the worldwide deluge of the Great Flood.In the narrative of the ark, God sees the...
, was the best-selling novel. MacGregor felt it "had a strong following among religious-oriented people [...] because they tend to take the Noah’s Ark story to heart and think of it as history and archaeological fact, rather than myth. They also see Indy as one of their own, even though he's actually quite an iconoclast
Iconoclasm
Iconoclasm is the deliberate destruction of religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually with religious or political motives. It is a frequent component of major political or religious changes...
[...] However, Indy follows the trail and indeed finds 'an ark' on Mount Ararat
Mount Ararat
Mount Ararat is a snow-capped, dormant volcanic cone in Turkey. It has two peaks: Greater Ararat and Lesser Ararat .The Ararat massif is about in diameter...
." MacGregor's own favorite of his books was the preceding third book The Seven Veils. This featured real-life explorer Percy Fawcett
Percy Fawcett
Lt. Colonel Percival Harrison Fawcett was a British artillery officer, archaeologist and South American explorer....
, and the tragic death of Indy's wife, Deirdre Campbell. Deirdre, a red hair
Red hair
Red hair occurs on approximately 1–2% of the human population. It occurs more frequently in people of northern or western European ancestry, and less frequently in other populations...
ed student of Indy at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
, dies in the book's climactic plane crash.
Martin Caidin
Martin Caidin
Martin Caidin was an American author and an authority on aeronautics and aviation.Caidin wrote more than 50 books, including Samurai!, Black Thursday, Thunderbolt!, Fork-Tailed Devil: The P-38, Zero!, The Ragged, Rugged Warriors, A Torch to the Enemy and many other works of military history...
wrote the next two novels in Bantam's series, Indiana Jones and the Sky Pirates and Indiana Jones and the White Witch. These both feature Gale Parker (like Deirdre Campbell, a red haired woman) as Indiana's sidekick, and also introduced afterword
Afterword
An afterword is a literary device that is often found at the end of a piece of literature. It generally covers the story of how the book came into being, or of how the idea for the book was developed....
s to the series, regarding the novel's historical context. Caidin became ill, so Max McCoy took over in 1995 and wrote the final four novels, Indiana Jones and the Philosopher's Stone, Indiana Jones and the Dinosaur Eggs, Indiana Jones and the Hollow Earth, and Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Sphinx. McCoy set his books nearer to Raiders, which informed his characterization of Indy. "The Raiders Indy was a bit darker [...] Not evil, just a shade rougher, and a little closer to Belloq than he would like to admit. In Raiders, Indy had to decide to be a hero," he said. McCoy gave a sample to his editors, featuring the crystal skull
Crystal skull
The crystal skulls are a number of human skull hardstone carvings made of clear or milky quartz rock, known in art history as "rock crystal", claimed to be pre-Columbian Mesoamerican artifacts by their alleged finders. However, none of the specimens made available for scientific study have been...
, which became the prologue of the first book. The skull became a recurring story, which concludes when Indy gives it up in the final novel. McCoy spent a longer time researching his novels, and Lucas's involvement was limited. LucasFilm also had to censor sexual or outlandish elements of his novels, in order to make McCoy's adult sensibilities appeal to younger readers, and they also rejected time travel in the final book because it was too science-fictional. Sallah
Sallah
Sallah Mohammed Faisel el-Kahir, better known as Sallah , is a fictional character played by John Rhys-Davies in two of the four Indiana Jones films: Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade...
, Lao Che, Rene Belloq and the Nazis made appearances, and McCoy also pitted Indy against Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
's fascists and the Japanese. Indy has a doomed romance with Alecia Dunstin, a red-haired librarian at the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, in this cycle. A novel involving the spear of destiny was dropped because Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
was developing the idea.
IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
journalist Scott Chitwood felt, "Bantam never marketed [the books] very well and many people never knew they existed." He asked former Bantam editor Tom Dupree in 2000, why they were not published in hardback. He answered, "Indy is just a better educated, more erudite, more human Doc Savage
Doc Savage
Doc Savage is a fictional character originally published in American pulp magazines during the 1930s and 1940s. He was created by publisher Henry W. Ralston and editor John L...
. Who wants to pay $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
22 for an adventure novel? Keep them at the paperback price, then if Indy 4 gets closer to reality, maybe we might rethink." In February 2008, the novelizations of the first three films were published in one edition. James Rollins
James Rollins
* For the American baseball pitcher, see Jim Czajkowski* For the American baseball shortstop, see Jimmy Rollins* For the 19th century American politician from Missouri, see James S. Rollins...
' Kingdom of the Crystal Skull novelization arrived the following May. Children's novelizations of all four films were published by Scholastic in 2008. MacGregor is writing new books for Ballantine for early 2009, as is Steve Perry
Steve Perry (author)
Steve Perry is an American television writer and science fiction author.-Biography:Perry is a native of the Deep South. His residences have included Louisiana, California, Washington and Oregon...
, whose Army of the Dead is due April 28, 2009. In May 2009, a new "middle grade" series entitled Untold Adventures will begin. The first two books are entitled Pyramid of the Sorcerer and Mystery of Mount Sinai.
Indiana Jones - Goldmann VerlagGoldmann (publisher)Goldmann is one of the largest publishing houses in Germany.Founded on 21 June 1922 by Wilhelm Goldmann in Leipzig, the first works to be published were the detective stories of Edgar Wallace....
Written by German Fantasy and SF author Wolfgang HohlbeinWolfgang Hohlbein
Wolfgang Hohlbein is a German writer of science fiction, fantasy and horror fiction who lives near Neuss, North Rhine-Westphalia. His wife, Heike, is also a writer and often works with her husband. She often comes up with the story ideas and therefore is generally credited as co-author...
without any involvement by LucasFilm these books were never translated into English.
- Indiana Jones und das Schiff der Götter - (1990, Indiana Jones And The Ship Of The Gods)
- Indiana Jones und die Gefiederte Schlange - (1990, Indiana Jones And The Feathered Snake)
- Indiana Jones und das Gold von El Dorado - (1991, Indiana Jones And The Gold Of El Dorado)
- Indiana Jones und das verschwundene Volk - (1991, Indiana Jones And The Lost People)
- Indiana Jones und das Schwert des Dschingis Khan - (1991, Indiana Jones And The Sword of Genghis Khan)
- Indiana Jones und das Geheimnis der Osterinseln - (1992, Indiana Jones And The Secret Of Easter Island)
- Indiana Jones und das Labyrinth des Horus - (1993, Indiana Jones And The Labyrinth Of Horus)
- Indiana Jones und das Erbe von Avalon - (1994, Indiana Jones And The Avalon Inheritance)
Indiana Jones (Prequels) - Bantam Books
This series of 12 books was published by Bantam BooksBantam Books
Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by Random House, the German media corporation subsidiary of Bertelsmann; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. Kramer, and Ian and Betty Ballantine...
between 1991 and 1999. The books were geared toward an adult / young adult audience and are prequels to the storyline of the film series, as they are set in the 1920s and early 1930s.
- Indiana Jones and the Peril at DelphiIndiana Jones and the Peril at DelphiIndiana Jones and the Peril at Delphi is the first of 12 Indiana Jones novels published by Bantam Books. Rob MacGregor, the author of this book, also wrote five of the other Indiana Jones books for Bantam...
(Feb 1991) - by Rob Macgregor - Indiana Jones and the Dance of the GiantsIndiana Jones and the Dance of the GiantsIndiana Jones and the Dance of the Giants is the second of 12 Indiana Jones novels published by Bantam Books. Rob MacGregor, the author of this book, also wrote five of the other Indiana Jones books for Bantam...
(June 1991) - by Rob Macgregor - Indiana Jones and the Seven VeilsIndiana Jones and the Seven VeilsIndiana Jones and the Seven Veils is the third of 12 Indiana Jones novels published by Bantam Books. Rob MacGregor, the author of this book, also wrote five of the other Indiana Jones books for Bantam...
(Dec 1991) - by Rob Macgregor - Indiana Jones and the Genesis Deluge (Feb 1992) - by Rob Macgregor
- Indiana Jones and the Unicorn's Legacy (Sept 1992) - by Rob Macgregor
- Indiana Jones and the Interior World (1992) - by Rob Macgregor
- Indiana Jones and the Sky Pirates (Dec 1993) - by Martin CaidinMartin CaidinMartin Caidin was an American author and an authority on aeronautics and aviation.Caidin wrote more than 50 books, including Samurai!, Black Thursday, Thunderbolt!, Fork-Tailed Devil: The P-38, Zero!, The Ragged, Rugged Warriors, A Torch to the Enemy and many other works of military history...
- Indiana Jones and the White Witch (1994) - by Martin CaidinMartin CaidinMartin Caidin was an American author and an authority on aeronautics and aviation.Caidin wrote more than 50 books, including Samurai!, Black Thursday, Thunderbolt!, Fork-Tailed Devil: The P-38, Zero!, The Ragged, Rugged Warriors, A Torch to the Enemy and many other works of military history...
- Indiana Jones and the Philosopher's StoneIndiana Jones and the Philosopher's StoneIndiana Jones and the Philosopher's Stone is the ninth of 12 Indiana Jones novels published by Bantam Books. Max McCoy, the author of this book, also wrote three of the other Indiana Jones books for Bantam...
(1995) - by Max McCoy - Indiana Jones and the Dinosaur Eggs (1996) - by Max McCoy
- Indiana Jones and the Hollow Earth (1997) - by Max McCoy
- Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Sphinx (1999) - by Max McCoy
Indiana Jones - Del Rey
- Indiana Jones and the Army of the Dead (2009) - by Steve PerrySteve Perry (author)Steve Perry is an American television writer and science fiction author.-Biography:Perry is a native of the Deep South. His residences have included Louisiana, California, Washington and Oregon...
Find Your Fate
There were eleven Indiana Jones books released in the Find Your FateChoose Your Own Adventure
Choose Your Own Adventure is a series of children's gamebooks where each story is written from a second-person point of view, with the reader assuming the role of the protagonist and making choices that determine the main character's actions and the plot's outcome. The series was based on a...
line, written by various authors. These books were similar to the Choose Your Own Adventure
Choose Your Own Adventure
Choose Your Own Adventure is a series of children's gamebooks where each story is written from a second-person point of view, with the reader assuming the role of the protagonist and making choices that determine the main character's actions and the plot's outcome. The series was based on a...
series, allowing the reader to select from options that change the outcome of the story. Ballantine Books
Ballantine Books
Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann AG in 1998 and remains part of that company today. Ballantine's logo is a...
first series of Find Your Fate books debuted with Indiana Jones as the title character. Each book in this series was numbered and the first several releases were titled "Find Your Fate Adventure" after which the word "Adventure" was taken out. Nearly this entire 17-book series was dedicated to stories within the world of Indiana Jones, with the exception of books #10 - #15 which centered around either Morgan Swift (# 10 & 15) or James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
(# 11-14). The company concurrently published several other Find Your Fate series, each labeled with their own distinct numbering, featuring licensed properties such as G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe is a line of action figures produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier , Action Sailor , Action Pilot , Action Marine and later on, the Action Nurse...
, Thundercats
ThunderCats
ThunderCats is an American animated television series that was produced by Rankin/Bass Productions debuting in 1984, based on the characters created by Tobin "Ted" Wolf. The series follows the adventures of a group of cat-like humanoid aliens...
and Jem
Jem (TV series)
Jem, also known as Jem and the Holograms, is an American animated television series that ran from 1985 to 1988 in U.S. first-run syndication...
as well as original characters.
- Indiana Jones and the Curse of Horror Island (June 1984) - R. L. StineR. L. StineRobert Lawrence Stine , known as R. L. Stine, and Jovial Bob Stine, is an American writer. Stine, who is called the "Stephen King of children's literature," is the author of hundreds of horror fiction novels, including the books in the Fear Street, Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, and The...
- Indiana Jones and the Lost Treasure of Sheba (June 1984) - Rose EstesRose EstesRose Estes is the author of many fantasy and science fiction books, including full length novels and multiple choice gamebooks.-Career:After contributing extensively to TSR, Inc.'s Dungeons and Dragons Endless Quest series , she wrote her first full length novel, Children of the Dragon...
- Indiana Jones and the Giants of the Silver Tower (Aug 1984) - R. L. StineR. L. StineRobert Lawrence Stine , known as R. L. Stine, and Jovial Bob Stine, is an American writer. Stine, who is called the "Stephen King of children's literature," is the author of hundreds of horror fiction novels, including the books in the Fear Street, Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, and The...
- Indiana Jones and the Eye of the Fates (Aug 1984) - Richard Wenk
- Indiana Jones and the Cup of the Vampire (Oct 1984) - Andy Helfer
- Indiana Jones and the Legion of Death (Dec 1984) - Richard Wenk
- Indiana Jones and the Cult of the Mummy's Crypt (Feb 1985) - R. L. StineR. L. StineRobert Lawrence Stine , known as R. L. Stine, and Jovial Bob Stine, is an American writer. Stine, who is called the "Stephen King of children's literature," is the author of hundreds of horror fiction novels, including the books in the Fear Street, Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, and The...
- Indiana Jones and the Dragon of Vengeance (Apr 1985) - Megan Stine and H. William Stine
- Indiana Jones and the Gold of Genghis Khan (May 1985) - Ellen WeissEllen WeissEllen Weiss is a journalist and three-time Peabody Award winner. She joined National Public Radio in 1982, eventually running the NPR News national desk and serving as executive producer of the NPR News magazine All Things Considered. She was named NPR vice president for news in April 2007 and...
- Indiana Jones and the Ape Slaves of Howling Island (1986) - R. L. StineR. L. StineRobert Lawrence Stine , known as R. L. Stine, and Jovial Bob Stine, is an American writer. Stine, who is called the "Stephen King of children's literature," is the author of hundreds of horror fiction novels, including the books in the Fear Street, Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, and The...
- Indiana Jones and the Mask of the Elephant (Feb 1987) - Megan Stine and H. William Stine
Young Indiana Jones
Random House- Young Indiana Jones and the Plantation Treasure - by William McCay
- Young Indiana Jones and the Tomb of Terror - by Les MartinLes MartinLes Martin is an American writer, especially of books for young readers. He has written several books in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles and The X-Files series.- The X-Files juvenile series :*X Marks the Spot...
- Young Indiana Jones and the Circle of Death - by William McCay
- Young Indiana Jones and the Secret City - by Les Martin
- Young Indiana Jones and the Princess of Peril - by Les Martin
- Young Indiana Jones and the Gypsy Revenge - by Les Martin
- Young Indiana Jones and the Ghostly Riders - by William McCay
- Young Indiana Jones and the Curse of Ruby Cross - by William McCay
- Young Indiana Jones and the Titanic Adventure - by Les Martin
- Young Indiana Jones and the Lost Gold of Durango - by Megan Stine and H. William Stine
- Young Indiana Jones and the Face of the Dragon - by William McCay
- Young Indiana Jones and the Journey to the Underworld - by Megan Stine and H. William Stine
- Young Indiana Jones and the Mountain of Fire - by William McCay
- Young Indiana Jones and the Pirates' Loot - by J.N. Fox
- Young Indiana Jones and the Eye of the Tiger - by William McCay
- Young Indiana Jones and the Mask of the Madman - by Megan Stine and H. William Stine
- Young Indiana Jones and the Ring of Power - Megan Stine
- The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: The Mummy's Curse - by Megan Stine and H. William Stine
- The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Field of Death - by Les Martin
- The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Safari Sleuth - by A.L. Singer
- The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: The Secret Peace - by William McCay
- The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: The Trek of Doom - by Les Martin
- The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Revolution! - by Gavin Scott
- The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Race to Danger - by Stephanie Calmenson
- The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Prisoner of War - by Sam Mclean
Bantam Books
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles:
- The Valley of The Kings - by Richard Brightfield
- South of the Border - by Richard Brightfield
- Revolution in Russia - by Richard Brightfield
- Masters of the Louvre - by Richard Brightfield
- African Safari - by Richard Brightfield
- Behind the Great Wall - by Richard Brightfield
- The Roaring Twenties - by Richard Brightfield
- The Irish Rebellion - by Richard Brightfield
Ballantine Books
Young Indiana Jones:
- The Mata Hari Affair - by James LucenoJames LucenoJames Luceno is The New York Times bestselling author of three Star Wars: The New Jedi Order novels, Agents of Chaos: Hero's Trial, Agents of Chaos: Jedi Eclipse and The Unifying Force....
- The Mummy's Curse - by Parker Smith
Graphic novels
- The Curse of the Jackal - by Dan Barry
- The Search for the Oryx - by Dan Barry
- The Peril of the Fort - by Dan Barry
Non-fiction books
- Lost Diaries of Young Indiana Jones by Eric D. Weiner
- The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: On the Set and Behind the Scenes by Dan Madsen
- Indiana Jones Explores Ancient Egypt - by John MalamJohn MalamJohn Malam is a British author of Children's non-fiction books.- Background :He was born in Wolverhampton, England, and attended the University of Birmingham where he received a degree in Ancient History and Archaeology. He excavated at sites in the UK, and headed the archaeology unit at the...
- Indiana Jones Explores Ancient Rome - by John Malam
- Indiana Jones Explores Ancient Greece - by John Malam
- Indiana Jones Explores The Vikings - by John Malam
- Indiana Jones Explores The Incas - by John Malam
- Indiana Jones Explores The Aztecs - by John Malam
Video games
The first Indiana Jones video game was a 1982 adaptation of Raiders of the Lost Ark, released on the Atari 2600Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
. Atari released Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in 1985. In 1988, an NES
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
version
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (NES)
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is an action game released in 1988 for the Nintendo Entertainment System. After the 1984 film release, Atari Games developed an arcade game based on the movie, which debuted in 1985...
of Temple of Doom was released. LucasArts
LucasArts
LucasArts Entertainment Company, LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was once famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...
released two versions of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (video game)
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is the title of three different video games released for various video and computer home systems. The format of each particular video game is different, but they loosely follow the film's storyline.-The Action Game:...
, entitled The Action Game and The Graphic Adventure
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure is a graphical adventure game, originally released in 1989 , published by Lucasfilm Games . It was the third game to use the SCUMM engine.-Plot:The plot closely follows, and expands upon, the film of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade...
. An NES version of The Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1991 video game)
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a video game released in 1991 by Taito for the NES based in the film of the same name...
was released in 1991. The final adaptation of the films, until 2008, was Indiana Jones' Greatest Adventures
Indiana Jones' Greatest Adventures
Indiana Jones’ Greatest Adventures is a game based on the Indiana Jones trilogy released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994, developed by Factor 5 and published by JVC Musical Industries, Inc. The story is told through cut-scenes and text and is mostly faithful to the movies...
, released on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
in 1994. In 2008, LucasArts released Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures is a 2008 video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by LucasArts. The game allows players to recreate moments from the first three Indiana Jones films: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Indiana Jones and the...
, which was based on the original three movies.
LucasArts released the first original Indiana Jones game, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis is a point-and-click adventure game by LucasArts originally released in 1992. Almost a year later, it was reissued on CD-ROM as an enhanced "talkie" edition with full voice acting and digitized sound effects...
, in 1992, which was a personal computer game
Personal computer game
A PC game, also known as a computer game, is a video game played on a personal computer, rather than on a video game console or arcade machine...
. A sequel, entitled Indiana Jones and the Iron Phoenix
Indiana Jones and the Iron Phoenix
Indiana Jones and the Iron Phoenix is a Dark Horse Comics limited series starring the fictional archaeologist Indiana Jones. It was the seventh Indiana Jones limited series by Dark Horse, and the sixth about the adult Indiana...
, was intended for a 1995 release, but was cancelled. Indiana Jones and His Desktop Adventures
Indiana Jones and His Desktop Adventures
Indiana Jones and his Desktop Adventures is a 1996 computer game. Desktop Adventures was made to run in a windowed form on the desktop to limit memory use and allow the player to perform other tasks...
followed instead in 1996. LucasArts released Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine
Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine
Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine is a multi-platform action-adventure video game by LucasArts released in late 1999. The first 3D installment in the series, its gameplay focuses on solving puzzles, fighting enemies, and various platforming sections...
in 1999 on the PC, and it was also released on the Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
and the Game Boy Color
Game Boy Color
The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...
by 2001. The game featured the return of Sophia Hapgood, Indy's sidekick from Fate of Atlantis. Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb
Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb
Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb is an action video game developed by The Collective and published by LucasArts in 2003 for PlayStation 2, Xbox, Macintosh and Windows. It features cover art by Drew Struzan. The game is a new adventure of fictional archeologist Indiana Jones. The story is set in...
, a prequel to Temple of Doom, was released on the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
and Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
in 2003. Another game with the title Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings was released in June 2009 for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
, Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
, PSP
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
and PS2. 2 Lego
Lego
Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...
video games have been released titled Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures is a 2008 video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by LucasArts. The game allows players to recreate moments from the first three Indiana Jones films: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Indiana Jones and the...
and Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues
Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues
Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues is a 2009 video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by LucasArts. It is the sequel to the 2008 game, Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures...
Attractions
Walt Disney Imagineering
Walt Disney Imagineering is the design and development arm of the Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation and construction of Disney theme parks worldwide...
on four occasions to create Indiana Jones attractions for Disney Parks worldwide:
- The Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular is a live amusement show at Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. Based on the popular and successful Indiana Jones film franchise, it includes various stunts and live reenacted scenes from Raiders of the Lost Ark...
show opened at the Disney's Hollywood StudiosDisney's Hollywood StudiosDisney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort. Spanning 135 acres in size, its theme is show business, drawing inspiration from the heyday of Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s...
in Lake Buena Vista, FloridaLake Buena Vista, FloridaLake Buena Vista is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. It is mostly known for being home to the Walt Disney World Resort. It is one of two Florida municipalities controlled by The Walt Disney Company, the other being Bay Lake....
, in 1989. - The Indiana Jones et le Temple du PérilIndiana Jones et le Temple du PérilIndiana Jones et le Temple du Péril is a roller coaster attraction at Disneyland Park at Disneyland Paris. It opened on July 30, 1993. Based on the Indiana Jones films, guests are taken on an adventure riding in a mining train through a lost temple...
rollercoaster opened at Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-ValleeMarne-la-ValléeMarne-la-Vallée is a new town located near Paris, France.Disneyland Paris, Val d'Europe,Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée,and École des Ponts ParisTech are located in Marne-la-Vallée.-Status:...
, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, in 1993. - The Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden EyeIndiana Jones AdventureIndiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye is a dark ride motion simulator attraction based on the Indiana Jones films. Guests accompany intrepid archeologist Dr. Indiana Jones on a quest for the Jewel of Power through a dangerous lost temple, then board military troop transport vehicles...
opened at Disneyland in Anaheim, CaliforniaAnaheim, CaliforniaAnaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
, in 1995. - The Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal SkullIndiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal SkullIndiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull, a motion simulator dark ride adventure, based on the Indiana Jones films, opened September 4, 2001 at Tokyo DisneySea theme park in Chiba, Japan...
opened at Tokyo DisneySeaTokyo DisneySeais a 176-acre theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort located in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, just outside Tokyo. It opened on September 4, 2001. It is owned by The Oriental Land Company, which licenses the theme from The Walt Disney Company. Tokyo DisneySea attracted an estimated 12 million visitors in...
in ChibaChiba Prefectureis a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region and the Greater Tokyo Area. Its capital is Chiba City.- History :Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15, 1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture...
, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, with the park, in 2001.
Toy lines
For the holiday season following the June 1981 debut of Raiders of the Lost Ark, KennerKenner
Kenner Products was a toy company founded in 1947 by three brothers, Albert, Phillip, and Joseph L. Steiner, in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, and was named after the street where the original corporate offices were located, which is just north of Cincinnati's Union Terminal.Kenner introduced its...
produced a 12-inch-tall "Authentically styled Action Figure" of Indiana Jones. The next spring they delivered nine smaller-scale (3-3/4") action figures, three playsets, and replicas of the German "Desert Convoy Truck," and Indy's Arabian horse
Arabian horse
The Arabian or Arab horse is a breed of horse that originated on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is one of the most easily recognizable horse breeds in the world. It is also one of the oldest breeds, with archaeological evidence of horses...
, all based on characters and situations from the Raiders movie. They also offered a Kenner-branded Raiders board game
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
. In conjunction with the theatrical release of Temple of Doom (1984), TSR, Inc.
TSR, Inc.
Blume and Gygax, the remaining owners, incorporated a new company called TSR Hobbies, Inc., with Blume and his father, Melvin Blume, owning the larger share. The former assets of the partnership were transferred to TSR Hobbies, Inc....
put out miniature metal versions of twelve characters from both ToD and Raiders for a role playing game. LJN Toys Ltd.
LJN
LJN was an American toy company and video game publisher. It created toy lines and video games based on movies, television shows, and celebrities. It was headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and later in Lyndhurst, New Jersey.-Founding:...
released just three six-inch action figures for Temple of Doom in 1984: Indy, Mola Ram, and the Giant Thugee; there were plans for the addition of Willie Scott and Short Round, and also a mine car racing set, but these followups were never made available. The third Indy feature film, The Last Crusade (1989), saw no toy merchandise tie-ins, but by 1993 Horizon filled the void with highly detailed vinyl model kits of Indy and his father, Henry, Sr., while in 1995 Micro Machines
Micro Machines
Micro Machines: The Original Scale Miniatures were a line of toys originally made by Galoob in the mid 1980s and throughout the 1990s. Galoob licensed the idea behind Micro Machines from Clem Heeden, a toy inventor from Wisconsin...
released a box set of ten die-cast toy
Die-cast toy
The term die-cast toy here refers to any toy or collectible model produced by using the die casting method. The toys are made of metal, with plastic, rubber or glass details. Wholly plastic toys are made by a similar process of injection moulding, but the two are rarely confused...
vehicles from all the films to that point. Micro Machines also considered a mini. playset that was never made available to the buying public. Toys McCoy released a Japanese-market-only limited edition (3000 units) 12-inch Indy and his horse from Raiders in 1999. In January 2001, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts is the segment of The Walt Disney Company that conceives, builds, and manages the company's theme parks and holiday resorts, as well as a variety of additional family-oriented leisure enterprises...
sold new and exclusive action figures and vehicle models, and a second wave followed in August 2003. This included G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe is a line of action figures produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier , Action Sailor , Action Pilot , Action Marine and later on, the Action Nurse...
versions of Indy, including an African-American styled toy, to honor the black performers at their stunt shows.
Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
released toys based on Raiders of the Lost Ark and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on May 1, 2008. Figure waves including characters from The Last Crusade, and Temple of Doom followed later in the year (http://www.cooltoyreview.com/Hasbro_IJ.asp), but ended up being distributed on a very limited basis, and proved rather difficult for collectors to find. The new toy line consists of 3 3/4-inch sized, highly articulated figures (each packed with a "Hidden Relic" artifact), supporting vehicles, and an Akator playset. A run of eight large (12-inch-tall) action figures was also issued, along with a series of "Adventure Heroes" aimed at young children. Die-cast vehicles, and some role-playing items rounded out the line. Hasbro ran several incentive mail-away offers requiring proof of purchase
Proof of purchase
Proof of purchase is often required for sales promotions and manufacturer rebates as evidence that the customer purchased the product. When multiple purchases are required to redeem these rewards, it is referred to as a premium incentive or collector mechanic.Traditional proof of purchase systems...
to receive an exclusive one sixth-scale (sized for 12-inch figures) Ark of the Covenant
Ark of the Covenant
The Ark of the Covenant , also known as the Ark of the Testimony, is a chest described in Book of Exodus as solely containing the Tablets of Stone on which the Ten Commandments were inscribed...
, an "Adventure Heroes" Indy with his horse from the first film, or a crystal skeleton action figure from the fourth film. Hasbro announced the cancellation of the line in the fall of 2008, due to poor overall sales, coupled with a down economy in the U.S. . Sideshow Collectibles, Gentle Giant, Diamond Select Toys
Diamond Comic Distributors
Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. is the largest comic book distributor serving North America. They transport comic books from both big and small comic book publishers, or suppliers, to the retailers. Diamond dominates the direct market in the United States, and has exclusive arrangements with most...
and Kotobukiya also earned the Indiana Jones licensing rights in 2008. Lego
Lego
Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...
will release eight play sets to coincide with the fourth film. Only half of them are based on Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: three are based on Raiders and another is based on Crusade.
Merchandise featuring franchise cross-overs include a spoofy Mr. Potato Head
Mr. Potato Head
Mr. Potato Head! is an American toy consisting of a plastic model of a potato which can be decorated with a variety of plastic parts that can attach to the main body. These parts usually include ears, eyes, shoes, a hat, a nose, and a mouth. The toy was invented and developed by George Lerner in...
Taters Of The Lost Ark set by Hasbro, Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...
as Indiana Jones (available only in Disney parks), and a Muppets-brand Adventure Kermit action figure, produced by Palisades Toys
Palisades Toys
Palisades Entertainment, LLC, better known as Palisades Toys, was a manufacturing and distributing toy & collectibles company geared toward the adult collector market...
, based on the frog's appearance in the Disney World stunt show
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular is a live amusement show at Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. Based on the popular and successful Indiana Jones film franchise, it includes various stunts and live reenacted scenes from Raiders of the Lost Ark...
as seen in The Muppets at Walt Disney World
The Muppets at Walt Disney World
The Muppets at Walt Disney World is a television special starring Jim Henson's Muppets at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. This was the last Muppets project that Jim Henson worked on before his death on May 16, 1990. The special aired on NBC May 6, 1990.-Plot:In this...
(although for legal reasons, the producers and figure's packaging made it clear that "Adventure Kermit" was in no way affiliated with Indiana Jones; the item nonetheless appears in DK's Indiana Jones: The Ultimate Guide, published in 2008).
Pinball
A pinball machine based on the first three films was released in 1993. Stern Pinball released a new edition in 2008, which featured all four movies.External links
- Official site
- TheRaider.net
- Indiana Jones series at Box Office MojoBox Office MojoBox Office Mojo is a website that tracks box office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way. Brandon Gray started the site in 1999. In 2002, Gray partnered with Sean Saulsbury and they grew the site to nearly two million readers when, in July 2008, the company was purchased by Amazon.com through...