During the late 1970s, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg made a deal with Paramount Pictures for five films about Indiana Jones. Following the theatrical release of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in 1989, Lucas decided to let the series end as he felt he could not think of a good plot device. Lucas came up with an idea for a fourth film during production of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles television series, and in 1992, he hired Jeb Stuart to write a screenplay. In 1995, Lucas called Last Crusade writer Jeffrey Boam back to pen another draft. Lucas came up with a MacGuffin, but Spielberg and Harrison Ford balked as it was too similar to the previous films, and spent two years reworking it into something more acceptable. Spielberg has stated that he wanted to make the film to please his children, as well as the Indiana Jones fans.

M. Night Shyamalan was hired as Boam's replacement for an intended 2002 shoot, but he left because of what Ford described as "the failure of George and Steven to attend to him." Shyamalan was overwhelmed writing a sequel to a film he loved like Raiders of the Lost Ark, and admitted it was difficult to get Ford, Spielberg, and Lucas to focus. Lucas admitted he would not be able to give the project his full attention until he completed the final Star Wars film in 2005. Afterwards, Stephen Gaghan and Tom Stoppard were approached to write a new screenplay.

With a title already planned, Frank Darabont, who wrote several episodes of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, was hired in May 2002 to write. Darabont's screenplay was set in the 1950s, after the demise of the Nazi regime, and featured cameos from Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) and Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw). It did not have Jones' son. In December 2002, Spielberg said he planned to shoot two films before filming Indiana Jones 4 in 2004 for a 2005 release. He also dismissed the possibility of shooting it digitally. All of this unravelled in February 2004 when Lucas rejected the draft for reasons unknown, although Spielberg called it the best since Raiders of the Lost Ark. Having spent a year on the project—which he considered a labor of love—Darabont was disappointed and agitated with Lucas' rejection of the script.

Jeff Nathanson was hired in October 2004 to write a completely new script. While shooting War of the Worlds in late 2004, Spielberg met with stuntman Vic Armstrong to discuss three stunt sequences he had envisioned. In October 2005, Lucas rejected Nathanson's draft. As 2006 began, Harrison Ford declared that if the film was not made by 2008, then the filmmakers should drop the idea altogether. Spielberg confirmed Indiana Jones 4 as his next film, calling it "the sweet dessert I give those who had to chow down on the bitter herbs that I've used in Munich",[28] and David Koepp was hired to polish the screenplay. On December 29, 2006, Lucas confirmed he, Spielberg and Koepp finished the script, and that Indiana Jones 4 would commence filming in 2007.

The film will be shot in several locations globally, including Los Angeles, which will take up fifty percent of the shoot. Filming began on June 18, 2007 at Deming, New Mexico, for scenes in Morocco. An extensive chase scene was shot between June 28-July 7 at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, which doubled as Indiana Jones' Marshall College. They moved to Hawaii, shooting twenty percent of the film for three weeks on private property, keeping production secretive. Hawaii stands in for a South American rainforest. Indiana Jones 4 is the biggest film shot in Hawaii since Waterworld, and will generate $22 million to $45 million in the local economy.

In 2003, producer Frank Marshall declared that the film would not rely on CGI and instead use traditional special effects and stuntwork so as to be consistent with the previous films. He reiterated this in 2006. 

Cast:
Harrison Ford as Professor Henry "Indiana" Jones, Jr. 
Cate Blanchett as the "leading lady" opposite Indiana Jones.
Ray Winstone has a major role in the film. Trades report that he will be Jones's sidekick.
Shia LaBeouf signed on in April 2007, though he is unsure of anything beyond being a comic sidekick as he did not read the script, being simply excited by the opportunity. 
Karen Allen will reprise her role as Marion Ravenwood from the first film. 
John Hurt in an unnamed role.
Jim Broadbent has a cameo as a professor. 

To prepare for the role, the 64-year-old Ford's fitness routine consisted of three hours a day at the gym and a high-protein diet of fish and vegetables. His co-star Shia LaBeouf spent the same amount of time gaining 15 pounds of muscle. LaBeouf also prepared for his role by viewing the original three Indiana Jones films repeatedly  echoing former Indiana Jones newcomer Sean Patrick Flanery.

Henry Jones, Sr. was in the script, but Sean Connery turned the film down, finding retirement too enjoyable, and a re-write was done to exclude the character. John Rhys-Davies was not asked to return as Sallah.

Soundtrack:
John Williams stated on the 2003 DVD documentary The Music of Indiana Jones that he hoped to return to write the score for the film, as he did for the previous three. In June 2007, Williams' company, the Gorfaine-Schwartz Agency, confirmed that Williams would be involved with the film.


Marketing:
Lucasfilm began its marketing campaign for the film with the film's official website—IndianaJones.com. Casting announcements, as well as several production videos and images were posted to the site, beginning with the film's official announcement on January 2, 2007. On July 26, 2007 at the 2007 Comic-Con, Paramount Pictures held a panel in which the company advertised some of its upcoming films—including Indiana Jones 4. Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford, Ray Winstone, and Shia LaBeouf—who were, at the time, taking a break from the day's filming in Hawaii—appeared live via webcam. Spielberg introduced Karen Allen to the cast, who confirmed she would be reprising her role as Marion Ravenwood from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Allen and Ford described the group as the "whole family". 

Paramount offered free Indiana Jones merchandise to all who attended the panel—including copies of a teaser poster for the film, as well as Indiana Jones 4 collectible coins. Later that day, IndianaJones.com implemented a new site design centered around the film, which initially loads "He's back... Memorial Day 2008", along with an image of Jones' Fedora and whip hung on the side of the Ark of the Covenant crate from Raiders of the Lost Ark. The crate reads "Property of Dr. Jones 9906573".

Lucas intends to release the trailer around Thanksgiving 2007, when the film's title will be unveiled. Hasbro and Lego will produce toy lines for the film, and LucasArts will release a new Indiana Jones video game. Burger King and Hallmark Cards will produce tie-ins. Random House, Scholastic, and DK will publish books, and J. W. Rinzler is in the process of writing a "making-of" book on the film, as well as books for each previous film. Dark Horse Comics will publish a comic book adaptation of the film. 

Additionally, Star Wars prequel trilogy producer Rick McCallum has confirmed that Paramount Pictures and Lucasfilm are set to release the first DVD set of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles in October 2007—with the second and third volumes arriving in January 2008 and shortly after the Indiana Jones 4 theatrical debut, respectively. Howard Roffman, President of Lucas Licensing, attributed the massive marketing push to the fact that "It's been 19 years since the last film and we are sensing a huge pent-up demand for everything Indy."

GOOD LINKS TO VISIT:

• Official site 
• Indiana Jones 4 at the Internet Movie Database 
• Indiana Jones 4 at Yahoo! Movies
• Wikipedia Article