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ndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a 2008 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and the fourth installment in the Indiana Jones series. Released and taking place nineteen years after the previous film, it is set in 1957, pitting Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) against Soviet KGB agents led by Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett)—searching for a telepathic crystal skull. Jones is aided by his former lover, Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), and their son, Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf). Ray Winstone, John Hurt, and Jim Broadbent are also part of the supporting cast.
Screenwriters Jeb Stuart, Jeffrey Boam, Frank Darabont, George Lucas and Jeff Nathanson wrote drafts before David Koepp's script satisfied the producers. The filmmakers intended to pay tribute to the science fiction B-movies of the 1950s era. Shooting began on June 18, 2007, at various locations in New Mexico, New Haven, Connecticut, Hawaii, and Fresno, California, as well as on sound stages in Los Angeles. To maintain aesthetic continuity with the previous films, the crew relied on traditional stunt work instead of computer-generated stunt doubles, and cinematographer Janusz Kamiński studied Douglas Slocombe's style from the previous films.
The film premiered at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2008, and was released worldwide on May 22, 2008. It received generally positive reviews from critics but more polarized responses from audiences. Critics praised the film for its cast, pulpy tone, action sequences, John Williams's musical score, and the costume design, but criticized the dialogue, storyline, pacing, and overuse of CGI. This installment to the franchise was also scrutinized for its historical inaccuracy depicting Incan Peruvian culture. It was also a financial success like the previous three films in the series, grossing over $790 million worldwide, becoming the franchise's highest-grossing film when not adjusted for inflation, as well as the second-highest-grossing film of 2008.
Paramount sold the distribution rights of future films in the Indiana Jones franchise to The Walt Disney Company in December 2013, following its acquisition of Lucasfilm in October 2012, with Paramount still retaining this film and its predecessors and receiving "financial participation" from any additional films beginning with the fifth film, which is scheduled for release on June 30, 2023, with Ford set to reprise his role.
