Indiana Jones 5 is coming in 2019 with Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg

Harrison Ford will reprise his role as the world's most-absent professor in a fifth Indiana Jones movie coming to theaters in 2019, Walt Disney Studios announced today. Steven Spielberg, who directed all of the previous films in the series, is on board to lead the project once more.

"Indiana Jones is one of the greatest heroes in cinematic history, and we can't wait to bring him back to the screen in 2019," Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn said in a press release. "It's rare to have such a perfect combination of director, producers, actor and role, and we couldn't be more excited to embark on this adventure with Harrison and Steven."

The rights to the franchise transferred over to Disney along with the deal that established it as the new owner of Star Wars. That deal also signalled George Lucas' exit from Lucasfilm and the end of his direct involvement with the films, which likely extends to Indiana Jones. Spielberg, who helmed the Indiana Jones series along with Lucas, was teasing a fifth entry as recently as October.

The fifth Indiana Jones film is currently set to debut on July 19, 2019, six days after Harrison Ford's 77th birthday. After the lukewarm reception given to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in 2008, Disney has its work cut out for it in reviving the adventures of the aging archaeologist once more.

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Image: Lucasfilm