Hi there, Dear Reader. It’s a hot mid-afternoon in New Hometown, Florida on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. Currently, the temperature is 85˚F (29˚C) under mostly cloudy skies. With humidity at 61% and the wind blowing from the west at 11 MPH (17 KM/H), the feels-like temperature is 88˚F (31˚C). Today’s forecast calls for a high of 82˚(28˚C), which we’ve already exceeded, and light rain. Tonight, skies will be mostly cloudy and the low will be 68˚F (20˚C).
Well, as the 40th Anniversary of Raiders of the Lost Ark approaches – it went into “wide release” on June 12, 1981 – many Indiana Jones (including Yours Truly) wonder: when are the four original films coming out in 4K Ultra High Definition (UHD) Blu-ray?
As of this writing, all I can say is that Paramount Home Media has a nine-disc box set of the Steven Spielberg-directed Indiana Jones films in the works,[1] and there’s even a concept illustration of the box art on Blu-ray.com. Aside from that, however, although the Internet is full of rumors about this Indy set, there aren’t that many facts available, other than that Paramount Pictures – which owns the distribution rights to the first four movies – and Lucasfilm are collaborating on this new Indiana Jones: The Complete Collection set. (Hey, when Blu-ray.com and The Digital Bits say Paramount is working on a 4K UHD set for Indy, it’s sure money that it’s happening; the frustrating thing – at least for me – is not knowing when it’s going to be released.)
One rumor that makes sense is the one cited by MidLevelMedia, and it suggests that the Indiana Jones 4K release will take place in June. The logic behind that rumor is, “Well, Raiders of the Lost Ark came out in June of 1981, so Paramount will likely release the box set in time for the 40th Anniversary.”
Again…it’s not official until Paramount makes an announcement, but a June release will be absolutely awesome.
I still have Paramount’s 2003 4-disc DVD and 2012 5-disc Blu-ray Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures sets, but I am eager to see how the studio handles this remastering in the more detailed and lifelike 4K UHD format. I also wonder if the 2021 set will port over the extras from the 2012 Blu-ray and add 40th Anniversary features, or if we’ll just get new extras and lose the ones from 2012,which (unlike the Lucasfilm Star Wars Blu-rays released in the 27-disc The Skywalker Saga) did not include any of the 2004 Star Wars Trilogy DVD box set extras. I hope that Paramount gives us some info about when this highly-anticipated set comes out. I’m trying to not triple dip when it comes to movies I already own on DVD and Blu-ray (mostly for reasons of storage, as my room is the smallest in the house), but since I’m an Indy fan and have been one since I saw it on Opening Day with my late mother in June of 1981, I’ll make an exception for The Man with the Hat and his extraordinary adventures.
[1] Spielberg was originally on board as the director of the upcoming Indiana Jones V film, which has been in the production pipeline over at Disney-owned Lucasfilm for a while and was, before the COVID-19 pandemic, scheduled to be released this summer. However, due to the long development of the script and other factors, Spielberg stepped down as the film’s director and handed the reins to James Mangold (Cop Land, Walk the Line) in January 2020. Hence the term “Steven Spielberg-directed Indiana Jones film.”
A Certain Point of View, Too 
Hey, have you read The Making of the Indiana Jones movies book that J. W Rinzler wrote in collaboration with Laurent Bouzerau? I have it on the pile. Been collecting all of Rinzler’s Making of books, and I bought that one like a month ago.
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Nope. I might buy it as my birthday present to myself, though! (I have Rinzler’s books about the original Star Wars Trilogy.)
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So do I. I’m still missing the one on Return of the Jedi. Last one on my list.
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I bought it and I managed to read enough of it for a review!
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