The seeds of the current Star Wars Renaissance were planted by the Walt Disney Company’s purchase of Lucasfilm in 2012. Today, that’s resulted in an entire corner of the Disney empire, including a dedicated section on the Disney+ streaming network. But the deal included more than just Star Wars. George Lucas’s other iconic pop culture creation, Indiana Jones, now belongs to Disney as well.
And yet, none of the Indy films or its ancillaries can be found on Disney+. This is because the streaming behemoth lacks the rights to distribute these movies. With the 40th anniversary of Raiders of the Lost Ark coming on June 12 and production on a new film underway, fans hoping to catch up on Indy’s adventures won’t find them on the official outlet of the entity that owns them. The reasons why are tied up in the specifics of the Lucasfilm purchase, but also in the ways the two franchises differ from each other.
In the simplest terms, while Disney owns the rights to distribute new Indiana Jones properties, distribution for the first four movies still belongs to Paramount. And with that studio now having a rebranded streaming service of its own, turning one of its premiere properties over to its biggest rival isn’t likely to happen. Indeed, the existing Indiana Jones movies were available on Netflix up until January of 2021, when they moved to CBS All Access ahead of that streaming service’s rebranding into Paramount+.
That indicates that Paramount isn’t being foolish about its assets. With Disney offering Star Wars, the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Pixar titles along with its own library of movies and TV shows, it makes a formidable rival. Paramount has Star Trek, but the more recognizable brands it can attach to its streaming service, the better. Circumstances will likely remain that way at least until the reported fifth Indiana Jones movie is released. If it does well, there may be an interest in developing further Indiana Jones properties, which would increase Disney’s desire to acquire the originals as well as Paramount’s incentive to hold onto them.
The franchise is hampered in that department, however, by its focus on a single character. Star Wars entails an entire universe that can readily expand into new properties, resulting in the likes of Star Wars: The Bad Batch and The Mandalorian. That gives it an evergreen status that Disney was quick to exploit once it gained the rights to the property. Paramount has done something very similar with Star Trek, which also isn’t bound by a single character or show. Indiana Jones, however, remains the sole and only draw to his universe.
Furthermore, he remains very tightly bound to Harrison Ford, whose turn in the fifth movie will almost surely be his last. Sean Patrick Flanery played the part in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles and River Phoenix in the opening sequence of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, but despite that, fan enthusiasm for recasting Indy has not been strong. If the fifth film is a huge hit, that may renew interest in seeing the character continue, but for now, Disney has declined to develop new stories for him the way they have for Star Wars.
That leaves current properties right where they are, at least for the time being. While they’re not on Disney+, the first four Indiana Jones movies are available for streaming on Paramount+, as part of that studio’s film library. Fans can also rent or buy them on the bulk of other streaming services, including Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, Vudu and Apple TV. For fans interested in physical copies, DVD and Blu-ray sets are widely available and a new 4K UHD collection will go on sale June 8.