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
Indiana Jones original storylines with Indiana Jones in the Lost Kingdom, "Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis", "Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine", "Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb" and "Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings". "Emperor's Tomb" sets up Jones's companion Wu Han and the search for Nurhaci's ashes seen at the beginning of "Temple of Doom". The first two games were developed by Hal Barwood and starred Doug Lee as the voice of Indiana Jones; "Emperor's Tomb" had David Esch fill the role and "Staff of Kings" starred John Armstrong. "Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine" was the