With rumours of a fifth Indiana Jones movie in the planning stages and its leading man Harrison Ford in his seventies, director Steven Spielberg has clarified that the role, in his mind, belongs only to one actor.

The man behind the much-loved film franchise was being interviewed by Screen Daily when he said that he would never replace Ford with a new actor if a new film came to fruition. “I don’t think anyone could replace Harrison as Indy, I don’t think that’s ever going to happen,” he reassured fans.

Partly because he has seen a number of other franchises, particularly comic book movie adaptations, hand their central roles from actor to actor as time has gone on, Spielberg is intent on keeping his series of movies away from that.

Harrison FordHarrison Ford will be playing 'Indiana Jones' if Spielberg directs a fifth movie

“It’s certainly not my intention to ever have another actor step into his shoes in the way there have been many actors that have played Spider-Man or Batman,” Spielberg said. “There is only going to be one actor playing Indiana Jones and that’s Harrison Ford.”

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73 year old Ford has played the all-action archaeologist in all four of the Indiana Jones movies so far, in 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1984’s Temple of Doom, 1989’s The Last Crusade and 2008’s Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Chris Pratt, currently one of the hottest properties in Hollywood after the likes of Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World, was one of the actors linked with the role, but it definitely seems that Ford would be the first choice if another movie was mode.

Asked why he wanted to continue with the Indiana Jones franchise, the director replied “because there are more adventures out there than films. As long as there’s more adventures out there, I’ve got a bullwhip, a fedora, a leather jacket and a man on a horse who knows how to get the job done.”

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