Steven Spielberg on a female-led Indiana Jones franchise: “There would be nothing wrong with that”

After Indiana Jones 5, the archaeologist might be taking 'a different form.'

In Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones perfectly described the fact that time catches up with all of us. " It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage," said Indy to Marion Ravenwood and after the cinematic nightmare that was Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg are returning to the beloved franchise. Christ, that image of Shia LaBeouf swinging from those CGI vines will haunt us forever but we've got faith that Indy will be back on track in the next adventure. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbdaoAYveUA This being said, it's looking increasingly likely that Ford will hang up the fedora and bullwhip for good after Indy 5 is done but what about the future? After all, somebody else has to chase that "fortune and glory, kid. Fortune and glory." While promoting his new sci-fi epic - the wonderful love letter to pop-culture and geekdom that is Ready Player One - Spielberg was asked about the future of the Indiana Jones franchise. Again, it's worth noting that Disney bought the rights to the Indiana Jones franchise in 2013 and much like they did with Star Wars, it's entirely reasonable to assume that they're going to want to get their money's worth. Spielberg was asked if he could envision a female character leading the Indiana Jones franchise - of course, it would have to be under a different name because that defeats the purpose of naming the franchise after Indiana Jones - but the director has said that it's time the main character 'took a different form.' As reported by The Sun, Spielberg said: "We'd have to change the name from Jones to Joan. And there would be nothing wrong with that" The director also revealed that the film looks set to be Ford's swansong in the iconic role. “This will be Harrison Ford’s last Indiana Jones movie, I am pretty sure, but it will certainly continue after that.” Regarding Dr Jones' next adventure, we already know that Shia LaBeouf will not appear in the film when it's released in 2020. Thank Christ for that.