For years now, fans have been theorizing that Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World star Chris Pratt could take over as Indiana Jones if Lucasfilm were ever going to reboot the beloved franchise. Director Steven Spielberg has always maintained that he would never recast Harrison Ford as Indy, but that hasn’t stopped people from entertaining the idea.
Ford himself is the latest to be questioned about the prospect of being replaced by Pratt, and he’s given a curious answer. While speaking with Variety, the topic of the upcoming Indiana Jones 5 naturally arose. The interviewer couldn’t resist dropping the Pratt question in there just as Ford was walking away. The legendary actor then gave the curt reply: “I think it’s him or me.”
Harrison Ford on whether Chris Pratt is joining #IndianaJones: "I think it's him or me" https://t.co/95n7PCxeaM pic.twitter.com/cLgrPWITs7
— Variety (@Variety) November 9, 2018
What with Ford’s notorious dry delivery, it’s hard to work out the intention behind the words here. The actor could be saying that he can’t see anyone else other than he or Pratt playing the character. So if Indy had to be recast, he endorses the MCU star. Alternatively, he could be saying that Pratt would be taking his place if he was cast, so he wouldn’t know anything about it, effectively washing his hands of the question.
While we ponder that one, Ford also touched on the status of Indy 5, saying that they have a script “into production” that he and the team are very excited about. He’s referring to Solo: A Star Wars Story scribe Jonathan Kasdan’s screenplay, which will be the first not to have any active input from creator George Lucas.
After being hit with a major delay, Indiana Jones 5 is now due to arrive in cinemas on July 9th, 2021. It’s thought that it’ll be Harrison Ford’s final turn donning the hat, much like Star Wars: The Force Awakens was for him as Han Solo. But will he be passing the whip onto Chris Pratt after that? Time will tell.