Disney's 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm was followed quickly by the studio's announcement that they would continue the Star Wars franchise, augmented by standalone films to be released in between the continuation of the series. They're making good on that promise, with J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens arriving in theaters in December of 2015.

But what about that other franchise that made Harrison Ford and Lucasfilm famous? Talk of a Indiana Jones 5 movie wound down about six months ago, when we heard that Twilight star Robert Pattinson would not be starring as a younger, recast Henry Jones, Jr. Even roughly a year ago, there was little to no indication that the franchise was much of a priority for Disney, with the studio's chairman Alan Horn saying, “We haven’t done anything… We don’t have a story. We need a story.”

We have something resembling an update now, and it might please fans of the property who have waited since Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull to find out if the 72-year-old Harrison Ford has at least one more go-around left as the adventuring archaeologist.

According to Variety reporter Marc Graser, Disney CEO Robert Iger told him the following:

"We'd love to make another 'Indiana Jones' movie but we're pacing ourselves right now."

Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls poster

The point being that the studio has enough to focus on with their Star Wars slate. After all, along with Episode VII, VIII and IX, the standalone movies to be released in between those entries are rumored to include a heist movie involving plans for the original Death Star, a Boba Fett movie and a spinoff centered on a young Han Solo. It's not too surprising that the Indiana Jones franchise was always considered more of a bonus.

Still, we should address the rumor that one of the stipulations for Harrison Ford's return as Han Solo was a hefty paycheck the chance for another Indy film. The past year's various rumors about recasting the role seem to negate this - has the notion of skewing younger with Indy been set aside?

We might need to take Iger's comments as an indication that development on Indiana Jones 5 has been put firmly on the back-burner at least until we have an idea of just how much of Ford's Han Solo we can expect beyond The Force Awakens.

What do you think, Screen Ranters? Should Harrison Ford return as Indiana Jones at least one more time?

Indiana Jones 5 is currently in development.

Source: Marc Graser