Indiana Jones’ big screen adventures may be coming to an end with the release of Indiana Jones 5, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the franchise is gone for good. In fact, one rumor suggests the adventures of everyone’s favorite fictional archaeologist could continue in the form of an animated TV series on Disney Plus.
Giant Freakin Robot claims that Lucasfilm is working on an animated Indiana Jones TV series for the Disney streaming service. Which would certainly be a novel way to continue Indiana’s adventures now that Harrison Ford is, arguably, too old to continue treasure-hunting on the big screen.
The only question is what a possible Indiana Jones TV series might involve. The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles already showed us there are parts of Indy’s life that are worth exploring, and animation may not come with some of the same constraints as live action.
Special effects, stunts, or the fact Harrison Ford is now in his ‘80s won’t be so much of an issue. There’s only so much de-aging VFX teams can handle, especially on a TV budget. Likewise, if Ford wants to be done with the franchise for good, there’s no shortage of talented voice actors that can step in to fill his shoes.
We’ve already seen multiple examples of successful animated spin-offs of major franchises, including Marvel’s What If? And the multitude of Star Wars shows that kicked off with 2008’s The Clone Wars — all of which are available to watch on Disney Plus. The Bad Batch has also been well received. The possibility that Disney (and Lucasfilm) may be considering another isn’t out of the question.
It’s an interesting idea, to say the least, and it makes sense that Disney would want to exploit some of the big franchises that it owns — even ones so intrinsically tied to individual actors. Giant Freakin Robot doesn’t have any additional details about this rumored series, only that the information comes from “trusted and proven sources”. So the only thing we can do is speculate on what this rumored TV show could be.
It always pays to be skeptical of internet rumors. Don’t be surprised if this one doesn’t pan out, or if Disney leaves it on the backburner for the foreseeable future. It could easily be that these plans, if they are indeed in the works, all hinge on the success of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny — which is due to arrive in theaters on June 30.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens to this rumor going forward. So watch this space, and we’ll keep our ears open for any additional news that may pop up.
