The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles Indiana Jones feature films, the cast and crew frequently questioned creator George Lucas about the Indiana Jones character's life growing up. During the concept stages of "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", Lucas and director Steven Spielberg decided to reveal some of this backstory in the film's opening scenes. For these scenes, Lucas chose River Phoenix to portray the character, as Harrison Ford believed that Phoenix most resembled Ford as a young man (Phoenix had appeared as Ford's son in "The Mosquito Coast"). This decision to reveal an adventure of a young Indiana led Lucas and crew to the idea
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull the past films. Lego also released a series of computer-animated spoofs, "Lego Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Brick", directed by Peder Pedersen. Stern Pinball released a new Indiana Jones pinball machine, designed by John Borg, based on all four films. From October 2007 to April 2008, the re-edited episodes of "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" were released in three DVD box sets. Random House, Dark Horse Comics, Diamond Comic Distributors, Scholastic, and DK published books, including James Rollins' novelization of "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull", a two-issue comic book adaptation written by John Jackson Miller and drawn