Indiana Jones Franchise Timeline

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MOVIE MILESTONES

TIMELINE

INDY MILESTONES

1910 - 1919
	1910
	1911
	1912	On a boy-scout trip, a young Indiana stumbles into a cavern where grave robbers are excavating the Cross of Coronado. Feeling strongly that the cross belongs in a museum, Indy steals it from the robbers while their backs are turned. A chase ensues. Indy jumps on a Circus Train to escape, but the robbers follow. Indy lands in the reptile car, slides into a pit of snakes and comes face to face with an anaconda. Indy will have issues with snakes from this day forward. He escapes the reptile car and later falls into a lions den. He uses a whip to keep the lion at bay and scars his chin in the process. Indy finally gets off the train and runs home. Although he rescues the cross, the robbers tell the Sheriff that Indiana was the thief, and he is forced to return it. One of the robbers, dressed very similarly to the future Indiana, gives him his fedora and says, “You lost today, kid, but that doesn't mean you have to like it.”
	1913
	1914
	1915
	1916
	1917
	1918
	1919

1920 - 1929
	1920
	1921
	1922
	1923
	1924
	1925
	1926
	1927
	1928
	1929

1930 - 1939
	1930
	1931
	1932
	1933
	1934
	1935	Indiana Jones visits a nightclub in Shanghai to make an archaeological trade with a gangster named Lao Che. The deal goes awry, and Indy flees for his life, somehow taking the club's singer, Willie, with him. They board a cargo plane, not knowing that it is owned by Lao Che. Under the direction of Lao Che, the pilots parachute out of the plane in mid-flight and leave Indy, Willie, and Indy's sidekick, Short Round, to fend for themselves. Indiana finds am inflatable emergency raft, grabs Willie and Short Round, and descends out of the plane. The three ride the raft down the Himalayan mountains and into a river. The trio come to an Indian village and the villagers plea with them to retrieve the Sankara Stone and their children, both of which were taken by forces from Pankot Palace. The stone has mystical powers and since it has been stolen, the village has suffered. Indy, Willie and Short Round visit the Palace and are invited in as guests. They discover a secret passage to an underground temple and mine. This is where the villages children are have been held as slaves by the Thuggee and are forced to dig in the mine to find the two remaining Sankara Stones.The Thuggee have enslaved the village's children to dig for two remaining Sankara stones that are lost within the mines of the palace. The Thuggee's leader, Mola Ram hopes to use the power of the five united Sankara stones to rule the world. Indy manages to free the children, steal the Sankara stones and escape the mine with Willie and Short Round. However, once they make it outside, they find themselves stuck at the top of a canyon. The three try to cross a makeshift rope-bridge, but are trapped by Mola Ram and his men from both sides. Indy warns Short Round and Willie in Chinese to hold on tightly, and then cuts the bridge in half with a sword. Most of the Thuggee fall to their death, However, Mola Ram hangs from the bridge and comes face to face with Indy. Mola Ram tries use black magic to steal Indy's heart but ends up falling off the bridge. Indiana and his friends return to the village and give the stone to its rightful owners.
	1936	Two Army intelligence officers visit Indiana and question him on the whereabouts of his former Mentor, Abner Ravenwood. The officers tell Jones that the Nazis are searching for Ravenwood, whom is an expert on the Egyptian city of Tanis. Tanis is believed to be the city that holds the Ark of the Covenant and the Nazis believe the occult power in the Ark will make them the strongest army in the world. Jones travels to warn Ravenwood of the Nazis visit, but finds that he is dead and his daughter, Marion, holds the key to finding the Ark. Jones and Marion find the Ark before the Nazis, but it is quickly seized from them and Jones and Marion are taken hostage. Nazi soldiers decide to view the Ark's contents before showing it to Hitler. Indy warns Marion to close her eyes, fearing what will come out of the Ark. The Nazis are killed by the Ark's supernatural power. When Indiana returns home, he is told that the Ark is being studied by scientists. However, the government has stored in a wooden crate deep in a warehouse.
	1937
	1938
	1939	On the eve of World War II, Indiana Jones must race against the Nazis in search of Atlantis and a newly discovered mineral of unimaginable power, called the Orichalcum.
		Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Indiana,his father and some other help along the way, manage to outwit the Nazis in their attempt to find the Holy Grail and stop it falling into Nazis hands.

1940 - 1949
	1940
	1941	Situated in Greece, just after the German invasion. Indy discovers a clue that can lead him to the legendary Golden Fleece. But the road to the magical fleece is not an easy one when he discovers there are evil groups after it too. From Greece to Istambul and then to the ancient Colchis, Indy will have to surpass not only German soldiers, but Turkish Secret Police and a mysterious cult.
	1942
	1943
On May 14, George Walton Lucas Jr. was born in Modesto, California to Dorothy and George Lucas Sr.	1944
	1945	Indiana Jones and his father Henry Jones Sr. get involved in a quest to find the Holy Lance that pierced Christ during the Crucifixion, also known as the Spear of Destiny. Following the Joneses into the heart of Ireland, in a race to stop the Nazis from acquiring a power that could destroy mankind.
	1946
	1947	Post WWII Nazis, hiding in Bolivia, are trying to find the Philosopher's Stone in order to resurrect Adolf Hitler.
	1948
As children, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg both went to their hometown theaters and watched Saturday morning serials from the 1930s and 1940s. The idea of making the story of Indiana Jones an adventure series came from these action-filled episodes shown in installments. Through the stories of Indiana Jones, Lucas and Spielberg pay homage to this genre of movies.	1949

1950 - 1959
	1950
	1951
	1952
	1953
	1954
	1955
	1956
	1957	Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Is Set In This Year. After being forced to leave Marshall College under dubious circumstances, Indy joins forces with rebellious, young Mutt, who believes he knows the whereabouts of one of the most spectacular archeological finds in history--the Crystal Skull of Akator, a legendary object of fascination, superstition and fear. But, as Indy and Mutt set out for the most remote corners of Peru--a land of ancient tombs, forgotten explorers and a rumored city of gold--they quickly realize they are not alone in their search. Soviet agents are also hot on the trail of the Crystal Skull. Chief among them is icy cold, devastatingly beautiful Irina Spalko, whose elite military unit is scouring the globe for the eerie Crystal Skull, which they believe can help the Soviets dominate the world--if they can unlock its secrets. Indy and Mutt must find a way to evade the ruthless Soviets, follow an impenetrable trail of mystery, grapple with enemies and friends of questionable motives, and, above all, stop the powerful Crystal Skull from falling into the deadliest of hands.
	1958
	1959

1960 - 1969
	1960
	1961
	1962
	1963
	1964
	1965
	1966
	1967
	1968
	1969

1970 - 1979
	1970
	1971
	1972
	1973
	1974
	1975
	1976
In late May 1977, Lucas was in Maui and met up with colleague Steven Spielberg. Spielberg brought up the notion of directing a James Bond film, when Lucas told Spielberg that he had dreamed up a character better than James Bond. Lucas explained his idea for Raiders of the Lost Ark and told Spielberg all about his character Indiana Smith. Spielberg loved the story, but didn't like the last name of the character. Lucas proposed the name "Indiana Jones," and the character was born.	1977
	1978
	1979

1980 - 1989
In June 1980, three weeks away from filming Raiders of the Lost Ark, Spielberg persuaded Lucas to cast Harrison Ford. Lucas had not wanted to cast him because he didn't want Ford to be in all of his movies. However, Spielberg and the producers changed his mind.	1980
Raiders of the Lost Ark is released on June 12, 1981. It earned $384 million worldwide. It was the highest grossing film of 1981.	1981
	1982
	1983
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, the prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark, released to the tune of $179 million in the United States. The film was one of the first to initiate the PG-13 rating.	1984
	1985
	1986
	1987
	1988
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is released. It is estimated to have grossed over $197 million in North America and $474 million worldwide.	1989

1990 - 1999
	1990
	1991
	1992
	1993
	1994
	1995
	1996
	1997
	1998
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom re-christend as the 23rd movie in the series following the Young Indiana Jones series of movies. Raiders of the Lost Ark is re-christend as the 24th movie in the series following the Young Indiana Jones series of movies. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is re-christened as the 25th movie in the series following the Young Indiana Jones series of movies.	1999

2000 - 2009
	2000
	2001
In the Last Crusade, stunt man Vic Armstrong jumps from a horse onto a tank. The stunt is voted one of the 10 best stunts of all time by Sky Movies viewers in the UK, in 2002.	2002
The Indiana Jones Series is released on DVD.	2003
	2004
	2005
	2006
	2007
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is released in theaters. More than 12,000 release prints will be distributed, which is the largest in Paramount Pictures' history. The film will need to gross $400 million to make a profit. Original trillogy DVD's released as individual special editions for the first time.	2008
	2009