Disney Buys Rights To INDIANA JONES Films

Whip it good, for Variety is reporting that Disney has taken control of another beloved franchise in the form of the Indiana Jones series.

While this isn't a super surprise, given last year's Lucasfilm deal that saw the rights to the character go to the Mouse House, this at least overcomes one of the hurdles about actually getting a new film from the series out into theatres. It's not such a bad deal for both - Disney gets (had?) rights to all future iterations along with their marketing opportunities, while Paramount will continue to have the rights to distribute the first four films, as well as profiting in part on any future installments.

So, basically, the gates are open for the new owners to do their thing, with the blessing of the old owners.

Disney of course has a longstanding connection with Indy (as they did with Star Wars before) in the form of their theme park, but this actually paves the path for new iterations of characters moving forward. A follow-up to the (underappreciated) Young Indiana Jones TV series? A followup with the adventures of Mutt as he takes over his father's business? Or maybe a complete reboot? Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Harrison Ford have all said they wouldn't mind another iteration, even if time seems to be running out, at least in terms of plausibility of the character doing much more than being a zany old coot.

It'll be hard to think of an Indy film not opening with the iconic Paramount mountain, almost as hard as to think of a Star Wars film not being intro'd by the snappy snare of the Fox theme. Still, I'm sure that someone will come up with a clever dissolve from the famed Disney castle into some foreboding location, as long as we see a man with a whip and a hat on screen again.