A Sallah-free Indy?

I guess when Sallah rode off into the sunset at the end of INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE, it really was the end for him and Marcus Brody (Hank Jones, Sr. is still deciding).

According to Dark Horizons, burly booming-voiced actor John Rhys-Davies has not been asked to return to the franchise, currently prepping for a fourth adventure (INDIANA JONES AND THE CITY OF THE GODS?). The speculation is that Dr. Jones’ Arab excavator chum wasn’t included in the script in favor of “a younger cast”, even though Harrison Ford is eligible for Social Security.

Then again, Shia LaBeouf was plenty coy about his involvement before the official casting announcement (which juuust so happened to coincide with the release of DISTURBIA, exec produced by Steven Spielberg), so perhaps Rhys-Davies is just being purposely cagey until papers are signed and releases are pressed. In the meantime, the LORD OF THE RINGS survivor will keep himself occupied by making approximately 17 direct-to-DVD movies per year.