It looks as though Chris Pratt won’t be the next Indiana Jones after all. Appearing on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the 43-year-old actor played down rumors that he would be taking over from Harrison Ford after the upcoming fifth Indiana Jones film.
“I don’t even know who Steven Spielberg is,” he quipped. “Who? Steven Who? No, aren’t they doing Indiana Jones with Harrison Ford?”
Indiana Jones 5 will see Harrison Ford’s whip-cracking archaeologist return for another adventure. First announced back in 2016, the film has been in production ever since.
But Pratt is somewhat mistaken about Spielberg’s involvement. Originally set to direct the Indy sequel, he since exited the project and was replaced by Logan director, James Mangold. Although Indiana Jones 5 will likely be Harrison Ford’s last outing as the iconic adventurer, there’s no official word on whether anyone will replace him.
However, we do know that Phoebe Waller-Bridge has joined the cast, alongside Mads Mikkelsen.
“All I know is I once saw a quote from Harrison Ford and I don’t even know if it was really him, but it was enough to scare me, that was like, ‘When I die, Indiana Jones dies.’ And I’m like, am I gonna get haunted by the ghost of Harrison Ford one day when he dies if I play…?”
Admittedly, the thought of Harrison Ford appearing out of nowhere like a vengeful Ark of the Covenant spirit is somewhat amusing… but I can see why Pratt isn’t so keen.
Still, Pratt has proven to be a popular choice for an eventual Indiana Jones reboot, despite the fact that Disney is yet to announce any further plans for the franchise beyond the upcoming sequel. That said, he was rumored for the role back in 2015… and many fans still think he’s the perfect choice to take over the role.
Whether or not Indiana Jones will continue raiding tombs after Harrison Ford has hung up his fedora remains to be seen. But I can think of worse actors to play him.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.