The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles into the 2008 feature film "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". A number of actors connected to the Indiana Jones films and/or George Lucas's "Star Wars" franchise made guest appearances. Harrison Ford appeared as a middle-aged Indy (age 50) in the episode "Young Indiana Jones and the Mystery of the Blues", which aired in March 1993. Paul Freeman, who played Rene Belloq in "Raiders of the Lost Ark", portrayed Frederick Selous in a couple of episodes, while Roshan Seth, who played Chattar Lal in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom", played a North African sheikh in
Indiana Jones (franchise) Lucas, Spielberg, Frank Marshall, and Kathleen Kennedy met during the American Film Institute's tribute to Ford, and decided they wanted to enjoy the experience of making an Indiana Jones film again. Spielberg also found returning to the series a respite from his many dark films during this period. Spielberg and Lucas discussed the central idea of a B-movie involving aliens, and Lucas suggested using crystal skulls to ground the idea. Lucas found these artifacts as fascinating as the Ark, and had intended to feature them for a "Young Indiana Jones" episode before the show's cancellation. M. Night Shyamalan was hired