Indy's back

In August 1989, the greatest movie hero of all time graced the cover of Empire Magazine. Over the years, hopes of his return have been raised, then dashed. But now, after 19 years, he's back.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of The Crystal Skull opened in practically every corner of the globe on Thursday, marking the end of a 19-year absence from the big screen.

Statistics indicate a phenomenon - three films amounting to $1.8 billion in box office - but the misty-eyed nostalgia-cum-manic excitement suggests something magical. Unlike George Lucas's Star Wars franchise, Indy's appeal knows no boundaries of sex, age, race and interest in action figures.

He is truly an everyman for everyone.

The last time we saw Henry Jones Jr, it was in the most joyous and definitive end you could ever hope for - riding off on horseback into a glorious sunset.

"Well, the sun came up the next day," observes Harrison Ford. "I didn't have any qualms about going back. I was quite sure we could do a film of the same quality, energy and entertainment. I thought it would be great to introduce the character in a fresh film to another generation of filmgoers."

For Steven Spielberg, the decision to sign on the proverbial dotted was driven by a desire to maintain ownership.

"I was very happy and satisfied that Indiana Jones had three solid adventures - or at least two-and-a-half," he laughs. "But Harrison and George were both tenacious about making a fourth one and I certainly didn't want anyone else to do it. I wasn't willing to step away from my role of director to become a co-producer."

The script development process on Indy IV is part of modern movie lore. Over the years, various screenplays have purportedly had Indy hunting for such mystical gubbins as the Garden Of The Immortal Peaches, a crashed flying saucer, the Lost City of Atlantis and Jimmy Hill's beard.

As ever with the Indy movies, the story started with George Lucas and, after the Lost Ark, the Sankara Stones and the Holy Grail, he felt that they had fully explored and exploited all the movie-friendly archaeological artefacts that were left to mine. But it was during a visit with Harrison Ford that Lucas cracked on to the idea of the crystal skull, a quartz-cranium believed to have supernatural powers. Mr Lucas was adamant. Mr Spielberg and Mr Ford were resistant.

But The Skull was born!