Chris Pratt Addresses Those Indiana Jones Replacement Rumors

Chris Pratt has commented on the old rumors of him taking over for Harrison Ford on Indiana Jones.

By Russ Milheim Posted:
Chris Pratt, Indiana Jones

Even though franchises like Star Wars and Marvel have been flooding the market as of late, it's hard to forget some of the classics. Though, sometimes it's understandable why some might slip the general populace's mind—one only has to look at what Kingdom of the Krystal Skull did to Indiana Jones' reputation. It ended up spelling doom for the series for fourteen years and counting.

However, that streak is finally set to come to an end next year. Indiana Jones 5 is officially happening, and Harrison Ford will be returning for the ride, while Logan's James Mangold replaces Steven Spielberg as director. Joining him this time around are big names such as Mads Mikkelsen, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and Antonio Banderas.

Apparently, at one point and time, Guardians of the Galaxy's Chris Pratt was set to take over the role of Indiana Jones in a reboot of the iconic franchise. While that never ended up happening, seeing as the above movie wrapped production earlier this year, one still has to wonder: were the rumors ever true?

Chris Pratt Talks Indiana Jones

Indiana Jones
Fox

Back in 2015, a report by Deadline stated that Chris Pratt was in the running to star as Indiana Jones in a reboot of the franchise. In a different report a few months later, iconic director Steven Spielberg noted how he would love to direct Pratt in the potential film.

With Indiana Jones 5 now happening with Harrison Ford reprising the role, and Spielberg out as director, that clearly didn't go anywhere. During an interview on Happy Sad Confused Podcast, Pratt commented on those rumors and if they were ever real.

The star started out by joking, "I don't even know who Steven Spielberg is," but then went on to say that a specific quote from Harrison Ford scared him into thinking he was going to "get haunted by the ghost of Harrison Ford one day when he dies if [he played the character]:"

"I don't even know who Steven Spielberg is. Steven who? No, aren't they doing Indiana Jones with Harrison Ford? Here's the thing, all I know is that I once saw a quote from Harrison Ford who said that when, and I don't even really know if it was really him, but it was enough to scare me, he was like, "when I die, Indiana Jones dies.' And I'm like, am I gonna like get haunted by the ghost of Harrison Ford one day when he dies if I play [the character]. I don't know, that's not anything that is real I think, people are capable of making mistakes even if they're Deadline."

What's Next for Chris Pratt?

While some may have been bummed out that Chris Pratt didn't eventually go on to be Indiana Jones, the star went on to do plenty of impressive things. For one, he ended up being a key part of two of the biggest movies of all time: Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame.

He also was the face of two other massive franchises, The Lego Movie and Jurassic World. On top of a third Guardians of the Galaxy movie, and Holiday Special, Pratt will be providing the iconic voice for both the Mario and Garfield movies. He's a busy man, to say the least.

At the end of the day, the Indiana Jones fanbase will almost certainly be content with seeing Harrison Ford back with his whip in hand when the fifth installment hits on June 30, 2023. Though a reboot will probably be talked about at some point in the future, so Pratt may still have a chance yet.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 hits theaters on May 5, 2023.

Release Date
June 30, 2023
Platform
Theaters
Actors
Mads Mikkelsen
Phoebe Waller-Bridge
- About The Author: Russ Milheim
Russ Milheim is the Industry Relations Coordinator at The Direct. On top of utilizing his expertise on the many corners of today’s entertainment to cover the latest news and theories, he establishes and maintains communication and relations between the outlet and the many studio and talent representatives.