Sean Patrick Flanery has come a long way from his days as a young actor in the late ’80s and early ’90s. However, that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t visit one of the franchises he worked on in those early days: Indiana Jones. When we talked with Flanery in promotion of his new jiu-jitsu drama Born a Champion, we couldn’t help but ask if he’d love to be involved with the Indiana Jones franchise once again, now that Indiana Jones 5 is on the way.
For those unaware, one of Flanery’s first major gigs was to step into the iconic boots of Indiana Jones once the franchise’s initial trilogy of films wrapped up. George Lucas devised a TV show to fill in Indiana’s backstory, entitled The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. Flanery was tapped to play the character in his teenage and young adult years. The show ran for two seasons and several TV movies (with the show also being re-edited into a new series of TV movies under the Adventures of Young Indiana Jones banner). It even inspired video games for the Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis.
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While Flanery’s time as Indiana doesn’t have the iconic status of Harrison Ford’s run as the character, it’s still an interesting one that fans of the character cherish. With Indiana Jones 5, Ford’s final film as the character, coming in 2022, it would be the perfect time for Flanery to get a nod in the form of a cameo or small role.
We asked Flanery about this possibility, wondering if he’d be down to return to the iconic franchise as it closes this chapter. He had a similar answer to when we inquired about returning to Dexter, the serial killer Showtime series he appeared on in 2013. He noted he had not been offered to return, but there’s no way he’d say no if given the opportunity.
“Man, I can probably count on one hand the amount of people that wouldn’t want to do something that George Lucas originated,” Flanery said with a laugh. “Being in a Harrison Ford film, I mean, that falls into that same Dexter category. But having said that, I mean, to me, Harrison Ford is Indiana Jones. You know what I mean? They’ve got my 20 bucks at the theater every time they put one of those out. Absolutely.”
As previously mentioned, Flanery can currently be seen in Born a Champion, which he co-wrote as a love letter to the sport of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. It’s available physically and digitally at leading retailers now. You can read our full Q-and-A with Flanery here. Indiana Jones 5 is slated for a 2022 release, but Harrison Ford is the only cast member publicly attached as of press time.
