If you’re looking for a list of all the Indiana Jones movies, you’ve probably realized by now that the timeline is a bit of a mess. It's not just a straight line from 1981 to today. No, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg decided to play around with the chronology right from the start, making the "proper" way to watch them a point of heated debate among fans.
Honestly, it’s kinda wild that a character who’s literally a history professor has such a confusing personal history. You've got prequels disguised as sequels, a TV show that fills in a decade of gaps, and a final movie that jumps through time more than a broken watch.
Most people just want to know what to watch first. Or they want to know why the second movie feels so weird compared to the first.
Basically, there are five main films, and if you include the Young Indiana Jones stuff, it becomes a marathon. Here is the breakdown of the movies as they hit theaters:
- Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
- Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)
The Strange Case of Temple of Doom
Here is the thing most people forget: Temple of Doom is actually a prequel to Raiders.
Check the dates on the screen. Raiders happens in 1936. Temple of Doom? That’s 1935. Why did they do that? George Lucas didn't want to use Nazis as the villains again so soon, so they went back a year to explore a different vibe. It’s way darker—like, "human sacrifice and chilled monkey brains" darker.
It’s actually the reason the PG-13 rating exists. Spielberg suggested a middle ground between PG and R because parents were losing their minds over the heart-ripping scene.
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If you watch them in chronological order, you start with Temple of Doom. But it’s a jarring experience because Indy is a lot more cynical and "mercenary" in that one than he is at the start of Raiders. Watching the release order feels more natural for his character growth, even if the calendar says otherwise.
The Dad Movie That Defined a Generation
By the time The Last Crusade rolled around in 1989, the franchise had found its soul. This is the one with Sean Connery as Indy's dad, and the chemistry is just... chef's kiss.
It’s set in 1938. The movie basically serves as a giant "How Indy Became Indy" story. We see the origin of the hat, the whip, the scar, and even the fear of snakes in a brilliant opening sequence featuring River Phoenix.
Most fans consider this the "perfect" ending. The three of them riding off into the sunset? You can't beat that. It felt final. Until, of course, it wasn't.
The Gap Years and the Crystal Skull
We had to wait nineteen years for the fourth movie. Nineteen years!
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull moved the timeline to 1957. The world had changed. The Nazis were gone, replaced by Soviets. Instead of religious relics, we got interdimensional aliens (or "interdimensional beings," as Indy insists).
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This is the one that people love to hate. "Nuking the fridge" became a literal meme for when a franchise goes too far. But if you re-watch it today, it’s not that bad. It’s just very different. It’s Lucas leaning into the 1950s B-movie sci-fi aesthetic, just like the first three leaned into 1930s adventure serials.
It also introduced Mutt Williams, played by Shia LaBeouf. At the time, everyone thought he was taking over the hat. Spoilers: he didn't.
The Final Bow: Dial of Destiny
The list of all the Indiana Jones movies officially ended in 2023 with The Dial of Destiny.
This one is set primarily in 1969 against the backdrop of the moon landing. Harrison Ford was 80 years old when this came out, which is just insane to think about.
The movie starts with a de-aged Indy in 1944, which looks incredibly impressive but also slightly uncanny if you look at the eyes too long. It’s a movie about regret and being a man "out of time."
- Director: James Mangold (the first one not directed by Spielberg).
- The Artifact: Archimedes' Dial (The Antikythera).
- The Villain: Mads Mikkelsen as a NASA-affiliated ex-Nazi.
It didn't set the box office on fire, mostly because it cost a fortune to make—over $300 million. But as a swan song for the character, it’s surprisingly emotional. It fixes some of the "happily ever after" issues from the fourth movie and gives Indy a very different kind of ending.
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How to Actually Watch Them
If you want the full experience, don't just stick to the movies.
If you include The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, you’re looking at a massive timeline that starts in 1908 and ends in 1993 (if you count the "Old Indy" bookends that were later edited out).
The Pure Movie Chronology:
- 1935: Temple of Doom
- 1936: Raiders of the Lost Ark
- 1938: Last Crusade
- 1944: Dial of Destiny (Opening Sequence)
- 1957: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
- 1969: Dial of Destiny (Main Story)
Honestly? Just watch them in release order first. Raiders is the perfect introduction to the character. If you start with Temple, you might wonder why Indy is such a jerk.
What most people get wrong
A lot of people think Indiana Jones is based on a real person. He's not. He's a composite of 1930s pulp heroes and George Lucas’s dog (yes, the dog was named Indiana).
Also, despite the fedora and the whip, Indy is technically a pretty terrible archaeologist. He breaks more than he finds and he’s basically a looter with a PhD. But that’s why we love him. He’s "making it up as he goes along."
For your next move, track down the "Great Circle" game or the original 90s TV episodes to see how the 1920s era Indy bridges the gap between the boy scout and the cynical treasure hunter. If you're planning a marathon, start with Raiders on a Friday night and see how far you get before the "fridge" scene in movie four tests your patience.