One of the most important elements of any Indiana Jones adventure is the ancient artifact that everybody is after, what Alfred Hitchcock would call the McGuffin. Each film features a legendary object from religion, history, or myth with notable examples being the Shankara Stone in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Holy Grail in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Many Indiana Jones books, comics, and games have been produced throughout the years, meaning that all of the best artifacts have already featured in some form of Indiana Jones media. But, like Star Wars, those stories can easily be ignored in the new Disney canon for Indiana Jones 5.
Gabon Nuclear Reactor
A mystery that has baffled scientists since its discovery in 1972. A French company purchased a consignment of Uranium Ore from a site in Okla, Gabon. The startling discovery that the Uranium has already been extracted prompted an investigation that revealed that the site was actually a two billion-year-old nuclear reactor.
Although some theories suggest that it was a natural phenomenon, there is another possibility. If Indy 5 takes the Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull route, the film could explore the possibility of inter-dimensional or extraterrestrial visitors building the reactor.
Excalibur
The sword of King Arthur, one of the most legendary weapons in all of mythology. The sword was famously given to Arthur by the Lady in the Lake and is a powerful magic weapon.
Although this Excalibur has shown up in few minor Indy adventures—nothing that would remain in the new Disney Canon—Arthurian Legend is yet to make its mark in the series. An unsanctioned feature-length script called Indiana Jones and the Sword of Arthur floated around on the internet in the years leading up to Indiana Jones 4.
Spear Of Destiny
The Holy Lance that Longinus used to pierce the flesh of Jesus Christ at the Crucifixion. As the story goes, blood and water came out of the wound, symbolizing Jesus to be both mortal and divine.
The Spear of Longinus, as it is also known, is one of the legendary relics of Christianity alongside the Holy Grail. Indy already sought the artifact in the 1995 Dark Horse comic Indiana Jones and the Spear of Destiny, which is one of the few stories featuring Indy's dad Henry Jones Sr.
Philosopher's Stone
A mythical stone with powerful alchemic properties, it's most well-known ability is turning base metals into gold, but, in some stories, it can grant immortality or even resurrect the dead. Legends of the stone exist in various cultures around the world.
It has appeared in numerous films and stories, the most famous being Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. It also appears in Indiana Jones and the Iron Phoenix, which was a Dark Horse comics adaptation of a canceled video game, and in the novel Indiana Jones and the Philosopher's Stone, as well.
Foundation Stone
Jerusalem would be an incredible place for an Indiana Jones adventure to take place. It has been a part of various civilizations throughout history and is an important city in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. A canceled third-season episode of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles would have taken place here in 1909.
Located at the Dome of the Rock, it is the place where creation began and is debated to be the juncture between heaven and earth according to Judaism. In Islam, it is said that Mohammed traveled here on a winged horse and ascended to the heavens.
Noah's Ark
The other Ark of Judaeo-Christian mythology, the ship which God instructed Moses to build in Genesis. A pair of every animal came to the ship two by two and boarded it to avoid the great flood. The tale of Noah's Arc is similar to the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, and some theorize that it may be based on it.
Indy already found the Ark in the 1992 novel Indiana Jones and the Genesis Deluge by Rob MacGregor. In that adventure, Indy discovers the Ark at Mount Arafat in Turkey.
The Ark Of The Covenant
The definitive McGuffin of the Indy franchise, the prize of Raider of the Lost Ark is synonymous with Indiana Jones. In the 1981 film, Indy and a group of Nazis led by Rene Belloq raced to unearth it from the Well of the Souls in Egypt. At the end of the film, it was boxed up and placed in a government warehouse at Area 51 where it was briefly glimpsed again in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
While the Indy franchise has rarely featured recurring McGuffins outside of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, this is the one that might break the rule. Considering the way the Disney Star Wars sequels recycled ideas from the original trilogy, it's not outside the realm of possibility that Indy pursues the Ark one last time.
Garden Of Eden
According to the Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden was the place where Adam and Eve once lived. It was here that they were deceived by Evil, in serpent form, into eating the apple from the Tree of Life, and were then cast out of Eden.
According to Genesis the garden was located at the source of four tributaries, many have theorized this to be southern Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) where the Tigris and the Euphrates flow to the sea. Never seen in an Indiana Jones story, The Garden of Eden and the Apple of Eden were extensively used in Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed and its sequels.
Atlantis
The tale of Atlantis comes from the work of Ancient Greek Philosopher Plato. According to the tale, Atlantis was a technologically advanced civilization of Ancient times that collapsed due to its hubris and the island sank into the sea. Although Plato's work is considered an allegory, some believe the myth to be real, and there have been numerous expeditions to find Atlantis over the years.
Atlantis was featured in the 1992 Lucasarts computer game Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis and the subsequent comic book adaptation by Dark Horse comics, with Atlantis discovered near in the Aegean sea in that story. Disney has already produced a feature film about Atlantis with its 2001 animated film Atlantis: The Lost Empire.
Fountain of Youth
Like the Holy Grail, the name Fountain of Youth has long been synonymous with ambitious quests. With both Greek and Mesoamerican origins, the springs of the fountain are said to grant the gift of youth to whoever drank from it or bathed in it. Ponce De Leon searched for it in Florida in 1513, with another possible location for the fountain being Bimini.
The Fountain of Youth has shown up or been mentioned in a number of Indiana Jones tales including most notably the Temple of the Crystal Skull at Tokyo DisneySea and as an unused idea for Indiana Jones 3 before it became Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. This may just be the perfect McGuffin for Harrison Ford, who will turn 80 in 2022.