List of Indiana Jones Movies in Chronological Order

The Indiana Jones series consists of four hugely successful movies that chronicle the adventures of archeologist Dr. Henry ‘Indiana’ Jones. This Entertainism article will give you the complete list of Indiana Jones movies in chronological order, fun facts, the cast, related books, and other trivia of the series.

The uniforms that were used by the soldiers in the Berlin parade scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade were real Nazi uniforms. They were from a collection found in Germany.

Directed by Steven Spielberg, the Indiana Jones films released over a span of 27 years, beginning in 1981, with the last release as recent as 2008. The character of Indiana Jones was partly based on the film action hero characters of the 1930’s era.

Since the first release, Indiana Jones has achieved worldwide fame, making millions of fans. And the franchise is not restricted to movies alone. An award-winning television series called ‘The young Indiana Jones Chronicles’ soon followed. Numerous Indiana Jones books and video games have made it to the shelves all over the world.

Timeline

Part I :
June 12, 1981
Raiders of the Lost Ark

Part II :
May 23, 1984
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Part III :
May 24, 1989
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Part IV :
May 22, 2008
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Synopsis

In the year 1936, under orders from Adolf Hitler, the Nazi army is in search of the Ark of the Covenant, which is believed to confer invincibility. To foil their plans, the US army intelligence hires Indiana Jones, who is serving as a professor of archeology at Marshall College. Helped by his ex-flame Marion and the trustworthy excavator Sallah, Indiana has to race from Nepal to Cairo to an island in the Aegean Sea, in the quest to stop the Ark from falling into the wrong hands. During his journey, he has to battle his primary foe, archeologist René Belloq, and a horde of Nazis.

Fun Facts

• The main character’s name was originally Indiana Smith, before Steven Spielberg decided to change it to Indiana Jones.
• Indiana’s jacket, which appears worn-out, was actually a brand new one that was modified by the costume director to make it look old.
• The scene where the monkey takes a Nazi salute required 50 takes before the shot was okayed.
• While shooting the ‘Well of Souls’ scene, the snakes would actually try to get closer to the fire to warm themselves up.
• The film was a product of a conversation between George Lucas and Steven Spielberg on a Hawaiian beach.
• Other famous names considered for the role of Indiana were Steve Martin, Jack Nicholson, Bill Murray, and Tom Selleck who was Steven Spielberg’s second choice.
• The total box office collections of the movie has reached around $390 million to this day.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Synopsis

This installment is actually a prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark. Indiana Jones narrowly escapes from a gangster in China on an airplane with a nightclub singer Willie Scott and his Shanghai contact Short Round. However, the pilots abandon them and the trio end up in an Indian village called Mayapore. The villagers mistakenly think that they have been sent by the God Shiva, and request them to find their kidnapped children and a sacred stone called the Shivalinga. They end up encountering an ancient deadly cult called the Thuggee, that indulges in human sacrifice and child slavery, in an underground temple called the Temple Of Doom. Harrison must deal with the evil clan leader Mola Ram, and rescue the children and the missing Shivalinga stone, using which, the Thuggees plan to rule the world.

Fun Facts

• Johnathan Ke Quan, the actor who plays Short Round, was found accidentally. He was merely accompanying his brother, who gave the audition.
• The movie was earlier banned by the Indian government, who found it offensive to Indian culture, but this ruling was later revoked.
• The dress of Kate Capshaw, who played Willie Scott, was eaten by an elephant.
• Harrison Ford suffered from a slipped disc while shooting for the Temple of Doom.
• Steven Spielberg met his future wife Kate Capshaw while filming this movie.
• The movie has crossed around $333 million in box office collections.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Synopsis

The story is set 2 years after the Raiders of the Lost Ark. In 1938, Indiana Jones is informed of his father Henry Jones Sr.’s disappearance by Walter Donovan, an American businessman, only to soon receive his diary by mail from Venice. Suspecting him to be in danger, Indiana and Marcus travel to Venice to investigate, and end up meeting Dr. Elsa Schneider, his father’s colleague. Soon, Indiana realizes that the Nazis are after the Holy Grail, and Elsa and Walter are helping them. Indiana has to battle the Nazis to save his father and find the Holy Grail before the Nazis have it.

Fun Facts

• Sean Connery was skeptical of his role as Indiana’s father, since he is only 12 years older than Harrison Ford.
• Two thousand rats were bred specially for this movie, since ordinary rats could carry diseases.
• Actress Amanda Redman refused the role of Dr. Elsa Schneider because she feared rats.
• While shooting the zeppelin scene, both Harrison Ford and Sean Connery did not wear pants because it was too hot.
• During the Nazi rally scene in Berlin, Steven Spielberg advised all the extras who were going to give a ‘Heil Hitler’ salute to keep their other hand crossed behind their backs, and they agreed.
• In the scene where Henry Jones Sr. scares the seagulls and brings down the Nazi plane, the birds used were doves and not seagulls. This is because seagulls can’t be trained.
• The movie has earned more than $474 million at the box office till date.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Synopsis

In 1957, an elite Soviet army unit is after an artifact called the Crystal Skull of Akator, attracted by its powers. Led by Colonel Irina Spalko, they kidnap World War 2 veterans Indiana Jones and his colleague George Mchale or ‘Mac’. Indiana is forced to find a crystal skull kept in a desolate Nevada warehouse. However, he soon escapes and is told by a youth Henry Williams (Mutt) that his old colleague Harold Oxley has been kidnapped. Following a trail of clues left behind by Oxley, Indiana and Mutt arrive in Nazca, Peru, where they are captured by the Soviets. It is now up to Indiana to rescue Oxley, Mutt’s mother, and above all, save the world from the nefarious intentions of the Soviets.

Fun Facts

• Sean Connery was offered a chance to reprise his role of Indiana’s father, but he refused, saying “retirement is just too damned much fun”.
• Despite signing confidentiality agreements with all the cast and crew, one of the film extras who played a Soviet soldier leaked some details to an Oklahoma newspaper. As punishment, Steven Spielberg reportedly had the extra’s footage digitally removed.
• Several crystal skulls, as shown in the movie, were actually present in museums and have recently been confirmed to be fake.
• Actor John Hurt wanted to read the script before he signed up for the movie. So director Steven Spielberg had the script flown over to the UK and back to LA on the next flight, just to maintain the secrecy of the script.
• To justify the aging of Harrison Ford, the events of the movie were shown to have happened 19 years after The Last Crusade. Coincidentally, the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was released 19 years after The Last Crusade.
• The movie is considered as one of the highest earning movies ever, having grossed around $787 million till date.

Books

There have been a few interesting Indiana Jones books that are novelizations (books based on movies). Here are the popular ones that have been adapted from the impressive movie series:

There is a strong buzz that the next installment is in the planning stages. Whether Harrison Ford will essay Indiana’s role or not is highly disputed. There have been rumors about Shia LaBeouf and George Pattinson being tipped to play the lead role, but nothing has been confirmed as yet. For now, all of us Indiana fans will have to wait with bated breath for an official announcement.