Apart from Star Wars, Indiana Jones is by far the most beloved and successful franchise created by George Lucas. The films cemented Harrison Ford’s career, and the franchise has gone on to produce a television show and multiple novels and comics. This is the Indiana Jones timeline.
What’s on the Indiana Jones Timeline?
The problem (or maybe the strength) of Indiana Jones is the fact that each story told in that universe is very episodic, with each story standing alone most of the time. There are several levels of canonicity in the Indiana Jones franchise, and we’ve included all of them here:
- The Films: These are the highest level of canon, and supersede all other stories. If there are contradictions with other stories, the films take precedence.
- Young Indiana Jones: This television show is next on the priority list. While it’s not quite at the same level as the films, it still supersedes all other stories.
- Licensed material: This includes games, books, and comics. These stories are not really considered canon, but where there are no contradictions with the films and the show, they could be enjoyed in chronological order. That is why we’ve included them as part of this timeline.
While this is the timeline as it currently stands, Lucasfilm has already “reset” the canon of Star Wars, and it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility that they would do so again with Indiana Jones. If that were the case, you could probably disregard the licensed material, but there are some good stories in there, so feel free to enjoy them!
Where to Start?
I would, of course, recommend starting with the original films in order of release (even though Temple of Doom is supposed to take place first). Then I would look into the show and licensed stories.
One could argue that “Young Indiana Jones: Mystery of the Blues” takes place AFTER “Last Crusade” and is seen as a flashback. 🙂
Looking at the Instrument of chaos, no way that takes place in 1910. 1920 or 21 more likely.