Star Wars: The Force Awakens

• Saddle up, don the fedora and crack that whip: Harrison Ford is back as the intrepid archaeologist in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
• The film premiered at Cannes, where Ford was awarded an Honorary Palme d’Or in recognition of his life’s work.

Role returns

Ford first played Indy in 1981 and last played him in 2008. That is a full 15 years since the most recent film in the series, and 42 years since his first outing in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Ford has form in returning to celebrated characters. One of the great pleasures of watching The Force Awakens back in 2015 was seeing Ford play Han Solo again for the first time in over 30 years. Actors return to roles for numerous reasons:
• And still, I’m intrigued to see what Michael Mann could do with his long-rumoured sequel to Heat, his definitive 1995 crime film.
• Read more:
  Heat 2, the book sequel to Michael Mann's film, is 'fundamentally bizarre' – but superb

Undoing time

• Actors used to just play characters of their own age when reprising earlier roles.
• Here, it is as if we are getting two Fords for the price of one: the “younger”, fitter Indy and the older, more world-weary version.
• Some viewers complain that the whole process is distracting and that the hyper-real visual look of de-aged scenes resembles a video game.
• Given its reduced cost, speed and reduced human input, AI-driven innovation might have industry-changing ramifications.

The star of Ford

• Harrison Ford remains a bona fide “movie star” in an industry profoundly buffeted by COVID, the rise of streaming platforms, the demise of the monoculture, and the changing nature of who constitutes a star.
• In the midst of all this industry uncertainty, it seems there is no longer a statute of limitations on actors returning to much-loved characters.