Many fans were disappointed when it became obvious that Harrison Ford and Sean Connery wouldn't be reuniting for Indiana Jones 4. Then Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull hit theaters, and fans were just disappointed. Some went as far as to call it Steven Spielberg's Phantom Menace. It appeared that Sean Connery had dodged a bullet. But it wasn't for a lack of Spielberg's aim. The iconic director actually wanted the former James Bond actor back in the movie. But Sean Connery couldn't do it. Or rather, he wouldn't. Why? Because the role was just too small.

That's right, despite Sean Connery playing Henry Jones, father to Indiana, in 1989's (seemingly) trilogy ending sequel The Last Crusade, he was being relegated to a cameo appearance in the next one, and that didn't sit right with Sean. If he was coming back, it would have to be for a co-starring role again. Or it just wasn't worth the effort. He had this to say in an interview that was recently unearthed.

"I spoke with Spielberg, but it didn't work out. It was not that generous a part, worth getting back into the harness and go for. And they had taken the story in a different line anyway, so the father of Indy was kind of really not that important. I had suggested they kill him in the movie, it would have taken care of it better."

Sean Connery is now retired from acting, and his Henry Jones character was shown as having passed away in Crystal Skull. So there's no chance he'll be back for Disney's Indiana Jones 5, which is coming to theaters summer 2020. So, unimpressed with Spielberg's Indy 4 pitch, the actor said goodbye to the franchise for good.

2008's Crystal Skull would have marked Connery's first return to the big screen in five years. He'd decided to call it quits after starring in the universally panned 2003 comic book adaptation The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The movie wasn't a good experience for the actor. And he decided his time in front of the camera had reached its end.

"The last one I did, [Gentlemen director Stephen Norrington] was given $85 million to make a movie in Prague, but unfortunately he wasn't certified before he started because he would have been arrested for insanity. So, we worked as well as we could, and [I] ended up being heavily involved in the editing and trying to salvage."

While Connery did consider returning for Crystal Skull before politely saying no, there was a PR that claimed the actor would return. When pressed for why he didn't reemerge in the role of Henry Jones, the actor gave a slightly different take on the reasoning. Instead of revealing his disappointment at such a small cameo, which would have happened at the end when Indy gets married to Marion Ravenwood, he told reporters that he was just having way too much fun being retired. And he wished Spielberg and his crew the best.There's always the chance that Sean Connery could show up in another movie some day. And in 2012, he did provide a voice for the little seen 2012 animated comedy Sir Billy. This lost interview appeared in The Hollywood Reporter.