“He’s coming.” That charmingly roguish archaeologist Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones has traveled around the world many times over, and now he’s about to arrive on Netflix. If you aren’t one of the millions of people who already own the movies Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), and the less-well-received Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) on DVD or Blu-ray, then you’ll be thrilled to have the adventures of Dr. Jones at your fingertips via the popular streaming service.
Throughout his exploits, whenever Indy travels via airplane, his journey is represented on-screen by an ever-lengthening red line that moves from city to city across a map, superimposed over footage of the plane mid-flight. In a clever video tweet sent out by Netflix’s official film twitter account, the service teased the arrival of Indiana Jones by declaring that “On January 1, the red line ends at your place.”
Raiders of the Lost Ark and its sequels are the episodic stories of a college professor who moonlights as an “obtainer of rare antiquities” across the globe, usually encountering dangerous foes, deadly booby traps, and mystical powers in his quests. The films were inspired by adventure movie serials of the 1930s and 1940s, and in turn, they themselves inspired attractions at several Disney theme parks. There have also been numerous Indiana Jones comic books, novels, video games, and even a live-action television series entitled The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.
Though the first four entries in the Indiana Jones film series were distributed by Paramount Pictures, the character of Indiana Jones and the world he inhabits are now owned by Disney under the umbrella of Lucasfilm, which it purchased outright from creator George Lucas in 2012. Any future films in the series will be produced and distributed by Walt Disney Studios, including the fifth installment, which is currently in development for a July 9, 2021 release date with original director Steven Spielberg and star Harrison Ford attached.
All four existing Indiana Jones movies will be available to stream on Netflix beginning this Tuesday, January 1.