Indiana Jones (franchise) in mid-2021. The series was created by George Lucas, and its films are directed by Steven Spielberg and star Harrison Ford as the title character. The Walt Disney Company has owned the "Indiana Jones" intellectual property since its acquisition of Lucasfilm, the series' production company, in 2012. Paramount retains the distribution rights to the first four films and television series. The franchise expanded to television in 1992 with the release of "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles", a series featuring adventures the character had as a child as he traveled around the world with his father. Marvel Comics began publishing "The
Indiana Jones film's introduction, set in 1912, provided some back story to the character, specifically the origin of his fear of snakes, his use of a bullwhip, the scar on his chin, and his hat; the film's epilogue also reveals that "Indiana" is not Jones's first name, but a nickname he took from the family dog. The film was a buddy movie of sorts, teaming Jones with his father, Henry Jones, Sr., often to comical effect. Although Lucas intended to make five Indiana Jones films, "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" was the last for over eighteen years, as he could not