NEWSMAKERS

NEWSMAKERS

‘Indiana Jones’ to return with Ford

NEW YORK

“Indiana Jones” is swinging back into theaters with Harrison Ford reprising the iconic role and Steven Spielberg directing.

The Walt Disney Co. announced Tuesday that the fifth film in the action adventure series will open July 19, 2019. The last “Indiana Jones” movie was 2008’s poorly received “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” which co-starred Shia LaBeouf as Indiana’s son. It followed a nearly 20-year gap in the franchise after 1989’s “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.”

Another “Indiana Jones” film has long been rumored, occasionally with whispers of different actors taking over the role from the 73-year-old Ford. But Spielberg repeatedly has insisted Ford never would be replaced.

‘Wicked’ grosses more than $1 billion

NEW YORK

Producers of “Wicked” say the theatrical blockbuster has grossed more than $1 billion on Broadway, joining only “The Lion King” and “The Phantom of the Opera” to that mark but faster than either rival.

The show, which opened in 2003 based on novelist Gregory Maguire’s fanciful “Wizard of Oz” prequel, took just 121/2 years to reach $1 billion. “The Lion King,” which opened in 1997, reached that mark in 2013. “The Phantom of the Opera,” which opened in New York in 1988, reached $1 billion last year.

Associated Press