Lucasfilm Releases Featurette Celebrating Harrison Ford's Cinematic Legacy

Today marks Harrison Ford's 81st birthday, and in honor of the actor's decades-spanning career, Lucasfilm has released a featurette that not only reflects on his iconic contributions to the studio as Han Solo and Indiana Jones, but also highlights what makes him such a unique figure in cinematic history. Given Ford's humble origins of merely being brought in to help with Star Wars auditions as a favor to George Lucas, ultimately securing the role of one of sci-fi's most beloved figures, he seems to be just as delightful as a collaborator as he is as a performer. Ford can currently be seen in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, which is in theaters now.

The new featurette includes figures like George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, Dial of Destiny director James Mangold, Dial of Destiny costar Pheobe Waller-Bridge, and more. One of the prevailing themes shared by all of the subjects in the featurette is something that audiences would agree with, which is that there's only ever been one Harrison Ford and there's no replicating his charm or talent.

Luckily for audiences, even if Dial of Destiny is the last time that Ford will play the iconic explorer, he has previously confirmed that this doesn't mean he'll be retiring from acting entirely.

"I don't [plan to retire]. I don't do well when I don't have work. I love to work. I love to feel useful. It's my jones. I want to be helpful," Ford shared last month while appearing on Who's Talking to Chris Wallace?.

Throughout the course of his career, Ford has taken on a variety of different roles, including many that saw him embrace an action-hero physicality. Understandably, we likely won't expect to see Ford take on new characters in that realm, but with his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut just over the horizon with Captain America: Brave New World expected to hit theaters next year, he could have one more high-octane adventure left.

Luckily, starring in TV series like Shrinking and 1923 means Ford is still keeping himself quite busy with exciting and diverse projects.

The iconic Harrison Ford returned for one last adventure as Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny premiered in theaters on June 30th. Lucasfilm's latest film in the long-running franchise sees Dr. Jones team up with his goddaughter Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) in a race against nefarious forces to secure a powerful artifact. The duo will go up against the mysterious former Nazi-turned-NASA scientist Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), and the film also features stars Boyd Holbrook, Antonio Banderas, Toby Jones, and John Rhys Davies. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is directed by James Mangold and is Ford's final appearance as the iconic archeologist.

What is your favorite Harrison Ford role? Let us know in the comments!