The Correct Order In Which To Watch The Indiana Jones Franchise
First hitting theaters over 40 years ago in the summer of 1981, the "Indiana Jones" franchise has become nothing short of a pop culture phenomenon, practically since its debut. A joint effort between famed filmmakers Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, the films also gave series star and legendary actor Harrison Ford, who at the time was coming off of Lucas's "The Empire Strikes Back," a franchise to call his very own.
At first glance, the question of how to best watch the "Indiana Jones" franchise may seem simple enough, but it doesn't quite begin and end with the five feature films audiences know and love. Because with a spin-off series, as well as a slew of TV movies starring Sean Flanery that would take a look at a much younger Indy traversing the early 20th century, it can be daunting to figure out how to best dive into the complicated story.
Fear not, as we've organized every chapter of the artifact-loving archaeologist's life as best we can, with respect to both viewing convenience and the ever-growing timeline. So whether you're a newcomer to the series, or a seasoned adventurer leaving no stone unturned, strap in, as we're getting ready to find out the best way to watch the "Indiana Jones" franchise, from beginning to end.
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
As is often the case after the launch of a successful film or television series, newer entries will come along, expanding on the stories we know and love by turning back the clock and going back in time. Projects like "Star Trek: Enterprise" or the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy are perfect examples of this in practice, but predating both of them by nearly a decade was "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles," a spin-off television series from the early '90s where Indy's story begins.
With 28 episodes to its credit across two seasons, the 1992 series is admittedly the hardest on our list to pin down chronologically, with the exact setting and even the year each installment is set in changing from episode to episode. That said, there's no more logical place to start your adventure than the show, which saw the young swashbuckler doing everything from meeting famous historical figures such as Thomas Edison and Vlad the Impaler to fighting in the trenches of World War I.
We won't lie, the television series may at times feel like a far cry from the films, and may leave some fans befuddled since it trades Indy's typical over-the-top adventures for something a little more down-to-earth. Despite that, they're well worth viewing for any die-hard fan of "Indiana Jones," and a must-watch before diving into what's next on our lineup. Plus, it's here that we get our last glimpse at Harrison Ford in the role of Indiana Jones for a while, appearing in one episode as an older Indy reminiscing on the past.
Young Indiana Jones: Travels With Father
After finishing the last episode of "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles," you might think it's finally time to get into the franchise's biggest-budget titles, but we're not there quite yet. Though the television series received an untimely end little more than a year after its debut, young Indy continued his adventuring in the form of direct-to-TV films well into the mid-'90s. The titles were released in reverse chronological order, meaning that "Travels With Father," though the last of the "Young Indiana" films released, was the earliest in the timeline, making it the best next step for an "Indiana Jones" viewing marathon.
As the name suggests, it follows both Indiana and his father Henry Jones Sr. (Lloyd Owen), who find themselves in the Russian Empire just a few years before the Russian Revolution. After a conflict with his father causes Indy to flee, he winds up crossing paths with the famed Russian writer Leo Tolstoy (Leo Tolstoy) in the twilight years of his life. Later, after being reunited with his father, the pair wind up in Greece, where further squabbles plant the seeds for the rift between father and son that'd still be remembered by both of them decades later in "The Last Crusade."
Young Indiana Jones and the Attack of the Hawkmen
The second film on our list skips forward a few years from our last entry, and Indy, now a young man, is once again in the throes of World War I. Instead of duking it out in the brutal trenches on the ground as he did in the television series, however, this time he takes to the skies, where he does his part as an aerial photographer embedded with the French Air Force. It's there, flying above the war-torn skies of Europe, that he does battle with the infamous and feared Red Baron, an encounter that he barely escapes from alive after being shot down.
Still determined to help win the war for the Allied Powers, he's assigned by high command to try and persuade real-life aircraft designer Anthony Fokker (Craig Kelly) to switch sides and turn the tide of the war against the enemy. First, though, he'll need to find the esteemed manufacturer, which means going deep within enemy territory. A wartime epic that portrays Indy as we've never seen him before, "Hawkmen" also reintroduces the character of Remy (Ronny Coutteure) from the television series. It won't be the last time he's paired up with our protagonist.
Now more than halfway through the young adventures of Indiana Jones, there's still a lot to cover before we reach the thrill-seeker-turned-professor's prime.
Young Indiana Jones and the Treasure of the Peacock's Eye
Set shortly after the previous title, it's late 1918, and the First World War is moments from drawing to a close. The effects of one of the deadliest conflicts of the century will set in motion new events that are just as dangerous for our hero. "Treasure of the Peacock's Eye" is a title that most fans of the franchise will feel right at home diving into, as the bulk of this one leaves the grittier tales of death-defying combat in war-torn Europe behind for something much closer to a classic Indy adventure.
The treasure-seeking quest is spurred by the dying words of one Corporal Sing (Rizz Abbasi), who was mortally wounded by the mysterious Zyke (Adrian Edmondson). With Indy at his side in his final moments, Sing pleads with him to track down his killer and stop Zyke before he finds the Peacock's Eye, a priceless diamond once owned by Alexander the Great. Indy soon sets off, with Remy once again at his side, as the pair travel across the globe in search of the precious gem — and encounter, oddly enough, the writer E.M. Forster (William Osborne).
After two films that at times don't quite feel like proper titles in an "Indiana Jones" lineup, "Treasure of the Peacock's Eye" was certainly a breath of fresh air for some.
Young Indiana Jones and the Hollywood Follies
We're still not quite done with Flanery's time as the whip-cracking adventurer. Now at the halfway point through the franchise, and after numerous escapades spanning from one corner of the world to the other, the last of the young Indiana Jones stories we'll be watching took a decidedly more grounded turn than previous installments. Back at home stateside and gainfully employed by a film studio, Jones winds up in sunny California, and quickly crosses paths with some of the biggest names in Hollywood — the first of whom is director Erich von Stroheim (Dana Gladstone), whose latest runaway film project may be an impossible task for even Indy to reign in.
With the film business still in its infancy, it doesn't take long for Indy to find himself moving on from the troubles with Stroheim to working with legendary filmmaker John Ford (Stephen Caffrey). While helping on the production of the director's latest Western, a tragic accident leads Indy to fill in behind the camera, giving us a fittingly meta moment to cap off the escapades of young Indiana Jones.
"Hollywood Follies" marks the final chapter of the series in which the character of Jones is portrayed by someone other than Harrison Ford. From here, the series takes the first leap forward of several more to come, some 15 years ahead in the timeline, and into the more recognizable globetrotting treasure hunter we know and love. We're glad to say that if you've made it this far, the best is still yet to come.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Though it was the second film bearing the "Indiana Jones" name to get a theatrical release, "Temple of Doom" actually takes place before some of Jones's most memorable exploits, making it the first of the feature films you should dive into. Opening in 1935 with a deal gone wrong between our hero and the criminal kingpin Lao Che over the same Peacock's Eye from years earlier, Indy is forced to flee the city of Shanghai with his newfound friends Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw) and Short Round (Ke Huy Quan) in tow. Unfortunately, their situation goes from bad to worse after they wind up in the care of Che's seedy associates thousands of feet in the air. One chaotic and highly improbable escape from a doomed plane later, and the trio wind up in remote India, where they come face to face with an entirely new danger.
As they soon find out, the tiny village they've arrived in has fallen prey to a sinister underground cult with a passion for human sacrifice. Led by the maniacal Mola Ram (Amrish Puri), the cult has seized several supernatural stones with ties to the Hindu religion that possess powers beyond comprehension, and they plan on making Indy and the rest of the visitors their latest sacrifices.
Sure, It may not be the greatest entry in the series, but it's certainly one of the most memorable, and is chronologically the first time we're treated to Harrison Ford with his iconic whip and fedora for a feature film.
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Finally, more than halfway through our list, we've arrived at the film that started it all. Remembered as the high point of the franchise for many fans, "Raiders of the Lost Ark" is as classic an Indy adventure as they come. It all starts with Jones in the deep jungles of Peru, on the hunt for a precious golden artifact — the search for which takes him through a perilous temple filled with danger at every turn, and from which he barely escapes with his life. From there, Jones is launched into a race between himself and rival archaeologist Belloq (Paul Freeman) to find a far more valuable treasure: the lost Ark of the Covenant.
Along the way, he joins up with old flame Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), as the two embark on a globe-trotting adventure to find the artifact first. Their opponent isn't alone either, however, as Belloq soon joins forces with a team of Nazis hoping to secure the powerful relic as a tool for the growing German war machine. With the future of the free world potentially hanging in the balance, Jones and Marion have to pull out all the stops to save the day.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Though the opening sequence of this one starring a much younger Indy might make newcomers to the series think we've made a mistake placing "The Last Crusade" so far along the lineup, rest assured that it soon reverts back to the same timeline we've grown familiar with. It's rumored that it was the memorable sequence with River Phoenix as the youthful adventurer that gave rise to all the Young Indy adventures we've already covered so far, which helped to expand the franchise beyond its on-again, off-again feature film run.
Once that sequence ends, we flash forward to the "present," just two years after the events of "Raiders." Jones is once again on the hunt for something. This time, however, it isn't just a precious artifact he's after, but also the whereabouts of his estranged father Henry Jones Sr. (Sean Connery), who's run afoul of the Nazis while on the search for the Holy Grail. And just like last time, he's not the only one hunting down the fabled relic, as a team of Nazi goons wants to harness the Grail's life-giving powers for themselves.
For years, audiences everywhere figured that, as the name implies, "The Last Crusade" would be the last time we'd see Jones on the big screen. After all, the film literally ends with Indy and the gang riding off into the sunset. Of course, with a series as beloved (and profitable) as this, we all know it couldn't end there.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
After the longest hiatus between "Indiana Jones" feature film releases that audiences had to endure, the suave adventurer returned to the silver screen for what audiences at the time thought would be his last hurrah. Incorporating that considerable length of time between titles into the film's story, "Crystal Skull" picks up nearly 20 years after the events of "The Last Crusade." As a result, the world is far more complicated than it once was, and is now gripped by all the tensions and paranoia of the Cold War, with our leather-clad hero caught in the middle of it all.
Once again, Jones finds himself at odds with a rival superpower's best and brightest, with both sides hunting down an object of extreme mystery. This time, it's Soviet agent Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett) and her ilk who are competing with Indy for a mystical crystal skull, which has roots in the lost city of Akator. Along the way, the whip-wielding relic hunter teams up with some familiar faces and some new while trying to uncover the truth of the otherworldly object.
Though a bit of a controversial title in the series, with critics and audiences failing to reach a consensus some 15 years on, there's no denying that "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" changed the franchise forever. From giving the vagabond adventurer a family to introducing aliens into the mythos, it's certainly the most unconventional chapter in the ongoing franchise.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Another lengthy gap in film releases later, and we've finally made it to the final stop on your watchlist, "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny." The latest entry is notable for being the first of the feature films to be produced without Spielberg or Lucas serving as director or writer, respectively, with Disney instead tapping James Mangold ("Walk the Line," "Logan") to helm the most recent installment in the franchise. "Dial of Destiny" isn't ignoring the considerable time that's passed between films, and will focus on an Indy in the twilight years of his life.
Set against the backdrop of the space race, Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), an old foe of Jones, reappears while helping develop American rockets to beat the Soviets. A former member of the Nazi party, his shared fascination for the mystical Dial of Destiny with Jones years ago has never faded, and now, in the late '60s, he plans to use it to change the past as he sees fit. To stop him, Indiana Jones must go on one last quest, teaming up with his goddaughter Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), to stop the twisted scheme.
Though it's been confirmed that Harrison Ford is hanging up the hat and whip for the role after this one, there's no telling where the series might go from here. If history is any sign, we probably haven't seen the last of Indy yet.