What the Heck is Disney Doing with Indiana Jones?

by Ray Keating

Commentary

DisneyBizJournal.com

October 25, 2018

When Disney purchased Lucasfilm in 2012 for $4 billion, the House of Mouse not only acquired Star Wars but also the ownership rights to Indiana Jones. So, what the heck has Disney done since with everyone’s favorite archeologist? Oddly, the answer is: Absolutely nothing.

The last movie – Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull – was released pre-Disney in 2008. And while Indy can be found at various attractions across Disney theme parks, all opened before Disney took ownership of Indiana Jones – the “Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!” show opened in Walt Disney World in 1989; the “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril” coaster opened at Disneyland Paris in 1993; the “Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye” in California’s Disneyland kicked off in 1995; and the “Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull” came online in 2001.

As for the next movie, as DisneyBizJournal noted in July, we are still waiting “with a recent announcement that a movie that was supposed to be released in 2019, and then 2020, is now rescheduled for 2021.”

Meanwhile, rumors always seem to be swirling about something big coming with Indy to Disney World. The latest speculation came thanks to Orlando Weekly reporting that an Indiana Jones mini-land is under consideration for Hollywood Studios. When might this be happening? It was noted in the report that it would come after 2021 and within a decade.

So, the wait continues – a wait that is quite frustrating to the many existing and potentially new fans of Indiana Jones, and a wait that bewilders many of us who expected Disney to kick this franchise in the pants in order to boost the returns on the Lucasfilm purchase. Let’s call it “Indiana Jones and the Search for Some Whip-Cracking Action from Disney.”

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels, with the two latest books being Reagan Country: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel and Heroes and Villains: A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story. He can be contacted at raykeating@keatingreports.com.