With Raiders of the Lost Ark marking its 45th anniversary this month and Variety reporting that Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg privately clashed with George Lucas over the alien storyline in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull — saying they were “not 100% on board” — Indiana Jones is back in the conversation. So is the question of who comes next. Lucasfilm is widely reported to be planning a full reboot. The answer, we’d argue, has been sitting on film since 2023. His name is Anthony Ingruber.
Who Is Anthony Ingruber — And Why Does He Look Exactly Like Harrison Ford?
Perhaps Ingruber’s name might not sound all that familiar to you — especially if you’re not a fan of romantic drama films. Ingruber is well-known in the Star Wars community for his on-point impression of Harrison Ford, more specifically, Ford’s interpretation of Han Solo in Star Wars: Episode IV.
Ingruber manages to achieve a near-perfect impersonation of every little aspect of Ford’s performance, including his subtle expressions and even his voice. This is the reason why many fans felt that it was a misjudgment on Disney’s part to not get him to play young Han in the Solo movie.
Even better, Ingruber already has some real Hollywood experience playing a young Harrison Ford thanks to his role in 2015’s The Age of Adaline. This fantasy romance about an immortal woman who falls in love with a man and his son throughout a century has Ingruber playing Ford in his younger years.
Although the film was not a smashing success with critics, it helped to boost Ingruber’s popularity in the mainstream. Now, we might have found the perfect actor to play a younger version of everyone’s favourite archaeologist adventurer.
How Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny Changed Everything
Before the announcement of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, numerous fan theories emerged from sites like Reddit, discussing how time travel could play a part in the then-upcoming film. Leaked set photos also revealed the Nazis would be the movie’s bad guys again — a dead giveaway of Dial of Destiny‘s focus on the past.
By the time of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Nazis were yesterday’s news. Now, it was all about commies. However, the reintroduction of Nazi villains — along with Harrison Ford’s casting as a much older Indy — gave fans the final clues they needed to piece together the plot of Dial of Destiny. Granted, at the time, we knew nothing of Helena Shaw, so most fans just assumed Older Indy would meet Young Indy in a time-bending adventure.
Seeing as we’ve got everything from ancient spirits to literal aliens in the Indy mythos, a time-travelling plot wouldn’t be too far-fetched. In fact, the “time travel” shenanigans had fans hopeful that Ingruber would be the studio’s pick to play Young Indy. In some ways, they were right — but more on that later. Whatever the case, seeing Ingruber go toe-to-toe with Ford was something that fans of both Indiana Jones and Star Wars had been waiting to see for years.
It finally happened. Disney brought Indy back from his cosy retirement and reintroduced the iconic tomb raider to a new generation. This version of Indiana Jones was decidedly older than his past incarnations, but somehow, Harrison Ford (one of the greatest action stars of the 90s) still plays a suave adventurer just as well as he did in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
That said, the franchise now finds itself in a bit of an awkward spot. Dial of Destiny underperformed badly at the box office and failed to win over even Indy’s most die-hard fans. The only problem with its implied handoff to Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Helena Shaw is that Indy’s name is right in the title. Simply put, you can’t have an Indiana Jones flick without Indiana Jones.
Knowing this is Disney we’re talking about here, it’s rather likely the Indiana Jones franchise will continue in some way or another. Because of that, Anthony Ingruber would be the perfect pick as the fedora-wearing successor to Harrison Ford — especially because he’s already done it on the big screen.
The Moment Disney Actually Used Ingruber As Indiana Jones
Against all odds, Anthony Ingruber finally got to play Indiana Jones in an official Indy film. As Indiana Jones fans guessed before the film’s release, the latest movie in the franchise uses time as its central plot device. Time travel and flashbacks are an essential part of this Indy escapade, and considering Harrison Ford’s vintage, a body double had to cover for the legendary actor in some scenes.
As we all know by now, Disney loves de-aging its actors. Whether it’s making younger versions of them or bringing them back from the dead, the studio has been a trailblazer in blending CGI with real actors to create visual miracles, like having Peter Cushing reprise his role as Grand Moff Tarkin in Rogue One.
In Dial of Destiny, Ingruber’s face was used to partially reconstruct the look of a young Harrison Ford during the film’s 1944 setpieces. Ingruber also served as Indy’s body double during those scenes. So if you enjoyed the physicality of most of the train sequence, you can rest easy knowing it was Ingruber doing most of the daring stunts.
Why Anthony Ingruber Is The Only Logical Choice For The Reboot
Unfortunately for Disney, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was a box office bomb. The movie performed poorly and failed to woo even Indy’s most die-hard fans. That has never stopped the House of Mouse, though — and if anything, the disappointing returns might spell something good for the franchise’s future.
At 36 years old, Anthony Ingruber is now almost the same age as Harrison Ford (one of the best actors of all time) when he first played Indy at 38. Considering their uncanny similarity, Disney might take this chance to do something truly unique for the franchise. According to a widely-cited report from Disney insider Skyler Shuler at The DisInsider — the outlet that correctly scooped The Incredibles 3 before it was officially announced — Lucasfilm is planning a full reboot, with an announcement expected in the near future. Meanwhile, Variety revealed this month that both Ford and Spielberg were deeply conflicted about the alien direction forced on Crystal Skull by Lucas, which tells you exactly how much the franchise has suffered when creatives are pulling in the wrong direction. A reboot needs the right anchor — and Ingruber is the only candidate who doesn’t require the audience to forget Harrison Ford ever existed.
Fan casts keep throwing out Chris Pine, Ryan Reynolds, and Chris Pratt — none of whom solve the core problem of replacing Harrison Ford. Ingruber already looks, moves, and sounds like him. The search is over.
Love them or hate them, the Star Wars live-action series are some of the top-sellers for Disney’s streaming platform. Add to that the online popularity of their Marvel shows, and the decision to make a live-action Indiana Jones series starring Anthony Ingruber suddenly makes a lot of sense.
Something in the style of Andor or the early episodes of The Mandalorian would fit the Indiana Jones franchise’s style incredibly well. If the big-screen reboot takes time to materialise, Disney+ and Anthony Ingruber have a ready-made opportunity to bring Indy back where audiences actually are.
What do you think? Would Anthony Ingruber make a good Indiana Jones? Not convinced? Watch this clip of Anthony Ingruber playing both Sean Connery and Harrison Ford from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade:
I was amazed by the Likeness, facial expressions and the voice!. Ingruber is perfect for the Indiana Jones sagas. Why he was not selected and cast for Solo is mind boggling. This young actor needs to carry the torch. After this latest Indiana Jones film with Anthony Ingruber in it, I would imagine all movie goers would demand more!
yeah he would be a good young Indiana Jones
yes that would be good
yes he would be a good young Indiana Jones series
Yes for a young Indiana Jones series set later on like the 20’s