Indiana Jones (franchise)

Indiana Jones (franchise)

The Indiana Jones franchise is an entertainment franchise, based on the historical adventures of Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones, a fictional archaeologist. It began in 1981 with the film Raiders of the Lost Ark. A prequel, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, followed in 1984 and the sequel Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in 1989. In 1992, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, featuring adventures the character had as a child as he traveled around the world with his father, began airing on television. A fourth film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, was released in 2008. The series was created by George Lucas; the films star Harrison Ford and were directed by Steven Spielberg.

The franchise has expanded beyond movies and TV. Marvel Comics began publishing The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones in 1983, and Dark Horse Comics earned the comic book rights to the character in 1991. Novelizations of the films have been published, as well as many novels with original adventures, including a series of German novels by Wolfgang Hohlbein, twelve novels set before the films published by Bantam Books, and a series set during the character's childhood inspired by the television show. Numerous video games about Indiana Jones have been released since 1982.

In October 2012, The Walt Disney Company agreed to acquire Lucasfilm, granting Disney ownership rights to the Indiana Jones and Star Wars franchises. However, although Disney owns the intellectual property, Disney CEO Bob Iger says that Indiana Jones was not initially factored to its equation during the deal, as Paramount Pictures continues to retain certain rights to future film installments of Indiana Jones.