News of an Indiana Jones series going into development at LucasFilm earlier this week was exciting for fans of the Harrison Ford-led movie franchise, but also not much of a surprise. With Ford hanging up his whip in the coming Indiana Jones 5, the franchise's legacy is something that Disney and LucasFilm have considered for some time now. In a new report from Jeff Sneider on The Hot Mic podcast, it has been suggested that the new series will actually be focused on a surprising character connected to the intrepid archaeologist and will act as a prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark.

This is not the first time a TV series set before the original Indiana Jones movie has been produced, as The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles did this across 28 episodes back in 1992/1993 when Sean Patrick Flanery and Corey Carrier shared the titular role in a show, which also featured George Hall as “old Indy” and a single guest appearance by Ford. The series was canceled quickly after suffering bad ratings despite a big budget. There were subsequently four TV movies made around the show and the series itself was re-edited into 22 TV movies under the collective title of The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones. According to Sneider, this time around, the prequel series will be focused on Abner Ravenwood, father of Karen Allen’s Raiders character and mentor of Henry Jones Jr. Sneider said:

"I've heard that the Indiana Jones series is a prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark that will follow Marion's father. I'm told he is the protagonist of the Indiana Jones series."

Related: What Indiana Jones 5 Needs to Get Right as the Final Adventure

Is an Indiana Jones Prequel Not Focused on Indiana Jones a Good Idea?

With Harrison Ford about to bring his time as Indiana Jones to an end, and many fans believing that, like many popular cinematic icons, anyone playing the character, whether younger or older, will always struggle to be looked at in the same way, a series set within the world of Jones but not directly being about him may not be a bad thing.

In Raiders of the Lost Ark, Abner Ravenwood is referenced frequently and has continued to be mentioned throughout the franchise, even though he has never actually appeared in any of the films, shows, or other media in the history of the IP. For that reason, starting with an almost clean slate could mean that an Indiana Jones-based prequel involving such an undeveloped part of the movies’ mythology would provide a large canvas for LucasFilm to work from without stepping on too many toes in the process.

For now, all of this is for the future, and LucasFilm will happily confirm or debunk this and other reports about the show in good time. First, though, will be the swansong of the leading man himself. Indiana Jones 5 is yet to be officially titled, although there have been rumors that it could simply be called “Indiana Jones,” but it will finally arrive in cinemas next summer on June 30, 2023, bringing the saga to what fans hope will be a fitting conclusion for the franchise that began just over 40 years ago.