Ten months. Ten months! Can it still be almost a year until the world's foremost authority on ancient artefacts, quality fedoras and kick-ass adventure returns to the big screen? Still, considering Indy IV was once only a far-off dream in the minds of millions of fans around the world, the fact the movie is now most definitely on its way should be enough to sate those treasure-seeking appetites...for now, at least.
With more Indy IV news expected to erupt from the Comic-Con panels over the next few days, Empire decided to kick things off by grabbing a few words with one of the movie's stars. Speaking in L.A., where Spielberg, Lucas and Ford are continuing the shoot, John Hurt told Empire that things were progessing " very nicely. I've done the odd scene with Shia [LeBoeuf]" he continued. "He's a very good young actor indeed and a very nice guy too. And working with Steven [Spielberg] is wonderful. It feels like I've worked with him many, many times before and I never have."
Despite a string of spiralling rumours - see Empire's Heroes Of 2008 feature for more Indy info - plot details and, in many cases, character specifics are still shrouded in secrecy. So when we asked the actor to tell us a bit about his role in next year's most anticipated movie, his reply was somwehat predicatble: "Well, I'm not allowed to tell you about my character - it's under tight control for good reason. It's not meant to be 'boo to you sucks' type of thing - it's because it makes sense...and it wouldn't help you to know what I was playing anyway."
And what of his hopes for the film? "My motto all the way through my life has been that if something stands the chance of succeeding on the level that it is intended to succeed on, then it's worth having a look at. And nobody could possibly say that this series has not absolutely fullfilled its intentions." Amen to that.
UPDATE: The offical Indiana Jones site has been updated with an on-set shot of Karen Allen (Marion Ravenwood returns!) and a series of new wallpapers. One of which I've just set as my desktop background. Awesome.
Stay tuned to Empire for all the latest Indy IV updates