Last week, Variety broke the news that Disney+ and Lucasfilm are actively considering the possibility of creating an Indiana Jones TV series. While no producers or writers are yet attached, Disney’s interest in exploring a new outlet for the franchise doubtless reflects Harrison Ford’s recent pronouncement that the fifth film in the series will be his last.

The series is one of Disney’s most bankable properties. Even the fourth film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which received decidedly mixed reviews, made over three-quarters of a billion dollars on its release in 2009. The company is plainly keen to ensure the franchise remains profitable into its fifth decade. And while not all movie franchises have made successful transitions to the small screen, here’s why we think Indy will buck the trend.

The Films Are at a Natural Endpoint

     Lucasfilm

All good things come to an end, and Ford, who, like James Bond star Daniel Craig has a love-hate relationship with his most famous role, is bowing out of the franchise after the release of the fifth movie next June. In truth, it feels like a natural end to Jones’ story arc after the notable shift in tone palpable in the fourth movie, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2009), which also starred Shia LaBeouf as Indiana’s son, Mutt Williams.

If anything, the fourth film demonstrated how difficult it is for film franchises to pass the baton. Mutt Williams was transparently intended to be a successor to Indy in preparation for a new slew of films. In the end, critics were less than enamored with the plot development of an estranged son, though LaBeouf’s work in a role that was somewhat underwritten impresses with hindsight. Regardless, lukewarm fan responses to the character of Williams combined with the actor’s substantial personal troubles seem to rule him out of a return to the part.

Although the consensus in fandom appears to be that Fleabag star Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who stars opposite Ford in the latest film, is best placed to continue to franchise as its star, such an outcome surely depends on the critical and popular response. Perhaps the clean break of a series would make more sense.

Lucasfilm Knows How to Transition to TV

While it’s true that the jury is still out on The Book of Boba Fett, Lucasfilm has managed to repurpose film properties effectively for television in recent years. The most obvious examples are, of course, The Mandalorian and Obi-Wan Kenobi, both of which scored excellent viewing figures and generally positive reviews on their debuts in November 2019 and May 2022, respectively.

Both were spinoffs, and so were less burdened with the need to expand on the story of a movie’s star. There might be a lesson here for prospective writers of an Indiana Jones series, who could profit from reimagining the franchise in a different time period or from the perspective of an ancillary character.

Would it work? Are the supporting characters Indy gathers around himself in the films strong enough to carry a series on their own? Therein lies a crucial difference between Star Wars and Indiana Jones. The former is based around an ensemble, whereas the latter is concerned with an individual who is synonymous with Harrison Ford. However, detractors may be surprised to know the franchise has already gone down the road of recasting for the small screen in the past, and the results were surprisingly impressive.

Indiana Jones Already Had a TV Series - And It Was Great

Yup, we’ve been here before. In 1992, three years after the successful release of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles debuted on ABC. The part of Indy was played by child actor Corey Carrier and Sean Patrick Flanery, who would never again enjoy the same cachet, but who has gone on to a prolific career in action thrillers and horror films. Flanery continues to think fondly of his time as Indy and even expressed a wish to appear in the fifth Indiana Jones film last year.

With George Lucas as executive producer, a lavish budget that allowed for filming in a variety of exotic locations across the globe, and a phalanx of Hollywood big-hitters such as Vanessa Redgrave, Christopher Lee, Max von Sydow, and Anne Heche in guest roles, the series had everything going for it. A slew of Emmy Award wins was not reflected in the ratings, and the show was canceled after just two series, with criticism being leveled at the show’s overly expository tone (a necessity, given the historical events that formed its plot).

The wider point is that the Indiana Jones franchise can work well in serial format. It is as good a way as any to continue Indy’s substantial cinematic legacy.