George Lucas hasn’t had the best of luck with his stories in recent years. The experiment that was the new Star Wars trilogy might have been a box-office success, but it failed to impress most of the franchise’s loyal fans. One of the most overlooked entries in the latest Star Wars saga is undoubtedly Solo: A Star Wars Story. Starring a younger version of everyone’s favourite space smuggler, the casting choice for the young Han Solo wasn’t particularly loved by fans. However, there’s an actor that’s been recognized for his uncanny resemblance to Harrison Ford; an actor that would’ve been infinitely better playing the role of Hans Solo and Indiana Jones: Anthony Ingruber.
Anthony Ingruber And Harrison Ford
Perhaps Ingruber’s name might not sound all that familiar to you – especially if you’re not a fan of romantic drama films. Ingruber is well-known in the Star Wars community for his on-point impression of Harrison Ford, more specifically, Ford’s interpretation of Han Solo in Star Wars: Episode IV.
Ingruber manages to achieve a near-perfect impersonation of every little aspect of Ford’s performance, including his subtle expressions and even his voice! This is the reason why many fans felt that it was a misjudgment on Disney’s part to not get him to play young Han in the Solo movie.
Even better, Ingruber already has some real Hollywood experience playing a young Harrison Ford thanks to his role in 2015’s The Age of Adaline. This fantasy romance about an immortal woman who falls in love with a man and his son throughout a century has Ingruber playing Ford in his younger years.
Although the film was not a smashing success with critics, it helped to boost Ingruber’s popularity in the mainstream. Now, we might have found the perfect actor to play a younger version of everyone’s favourite archaeologic smuggler.
Generations Collide
Before the announcement of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, numerous fan theories emerged from sites like Reddit, discussing how time travel could play a part in the then-upcoming film. Leaked set photos also revealed the Nazis would be the movie’s bad guys (again) – a dead giveaway of Dial of Destiny’s focus on the past.
By the time of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Nazis were yesterday’s news. Now, it was all about commies. However, the reintroduction of Nazi baddies – along with Harrison Ford’s casting as a much older Indy – gave fans the final clues they needed to piece together the plot of Dial of Destiny. Granted, at the time, we knew nothing of Helena Shaw, so most fans just assumed Older Indy would meet Young Indy in a time-bending adventure.
Seeing as we’ve got everything from ancient spirits to literal aliens in the Indy mythos, a time-travelling plot wouldn’t be too far-fetched. In fact, the “time travel” shenanigans had fans hopeful that Ingruber would be the studio’s pick to play Young Indy. In some ways, they were right, but more on that later. Whatever the case, seeing Ingruber go toe-to-toe with Ford was something that fans of both Indiana Jones and Star Wars had been waiting to see for years.
It finally happened. Disney brought Indy back from his cosy retirement and reintroduced the iconic tomb raider to a new generation. This version of Indiana Jones was decidedly older than his past incarnations, but somehow, Harrison Ford (one of the greatest action stars of the 90s) still plays a suave adventurer just as well as he did in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
That said, the franchise now finds itself in a bit of an awkward spot. Dial of Destiny seems to imply Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Helena Shaw will be the new hero of the series going forward. The only problem with this provocative move is that Indy’s name is right in the title. Simply put, you can’t have an Indiana Jones flick without Indiana Jones.
Knowing this is Disney we’re talking about here, it’s rather likely the Indiana Jones franchise will continue in some way or another. Because of that, Anthony Ingruber would be the perfect pick as the fedora-wearing successor of Harrison Ford – especially because he’s already done it on the big screen.
Digital Succession
Against all odds, Anthony Ingruber finally got to play Indiana Jones in an official Indy film. As Indiana Jones fans guessed before the film’s release, the latest movie in the franchise uses time as its central plot device. Time travel and flashbacks are an essential part of this Indy escapade, and considering Harrison Ford’s vintage, a body double had to cover for the legendary actor in some scenes.
As we all know by now, Disney loves de-aging its actors. Whether it’s making younger versions of them or bringing them back from the dead, the studio has been a trailblazer in blending CGI with real actors to create visual miracles, like having Peter Cushing reprise his role as Grand Moff Tarkin in Rogue One.
In the Dial of Destiny, Ingruber’s face was used to partially reconstruct the look of a young Harrison Ford during the film’s 1944 setpieces. Ingruber also serves as Indy’s body double during those scenes. So, if you enjoyed the physicality of most of the train sequence, you can rest easy knowing it was Ingruber doing most of the daring stunts.
Anthony Ingruber’s Future As Indiana Jones
Unfortunately for Disney, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was a box office bomb. The movie performed poorly at the box office and failed to woo even Indy’s most die-hard fans. That has never stopped the House of Mouse, though; if anything, the disappointing returns might spell something good for the franchise’s future.
At 34 years old, Anthony Ingruber is now almost the same age as Harrison Ford (one of the best actors of all time) when he first played Indy at 38. Considering their uncanny similarity, Disney might take this chance to do something truly unique for the franchise: turn it into a serialized Disney+ event.
Love them or hate them, the Star Wars live-action series are some of the top-sellers for Disney’s streaming platform. Add to that the online popularity of their Marvel shows, and the decision to make a live-action Indiana Jones series starring Anthony Ingruber suddenly makes a lot of sense.
Something in the style of Andor or the early episodes of The Mandalorian would fit the Indiana Jones franchise’s style incredibly well. If the Dial of Destiny puts the franchise into a coma, Disney+ and Anthony Ingruber will have the opportunity to truly bring Indy back to our screens.
What do you think? Would Anthony Ingruber make a good Indiana Jones?
Not convinced? Watch this clip of Anthony Ingruber playing both Sean Connery and Harrison Ford from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade:
