New Indiana Jones Movie to Be Titled Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

In a recent press release, Paramount Pictures and Lucasfilm Ltd. confirmed the news that the fourth film in the "Indiana Jones" franchise will be titled "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." Cast member Shia LaBeouf ("Transformers"), who currently is working on the film with stars Harrison Ford and John Hurt, originally revealed this title during the MTV Video Music Awards, which were broadcast live from Las Vegas on Sunday, September 9.

In 1981, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas released the original Indiana Jones adventure, which was entitled "Raiders of the Lost Ark." With its retro look and swashbuckling sequences, many film fans considered it to be a homage to the Saturday afternoon "serials" of the 1930's and 40's. A serial was a full-length adventure split into 12 or 15 segments, each one typically ending in a "cliff-hanger" that put the hero or someone he loved in mortal danger. Children had to come back each week to see what happened in the next segment, but fortunately, that wasn't the case with the self-contained "Raiders."

Harrison Ford, a carpenter and struggling actor who became well-known after playing Han Solo in Episodes 4, 5, and 6 of Lucas' "Star Wars" series, took on the role of Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones, Jr., an archaeologist who was part swashbuckler and favored fedora hats and bull whips. He traveled the world looking for historic treasures so that they could be properly displayed in museums. The original adventure was a quest to find the Lost Ark of the Covenant before members of Adolph Hitler's troops could capture it and use it for evil.

Thanks to enthusiastic audience response to this throwback adventure, "Raiders of the Lost Ark" spawned the sequels "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" and "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," the last one revealing the true origin of Dr. Jones nickname ("Indiana" was the name of the family dog). Sean Connery played Jones' father, who was on a lifelong quest to find the Holy Grail, the chalice reportedly used at the Last Supper.