Harrison Ford stepped into new territory at the Walt Disney World expansion showcase at D23 on Saturday (Aug. 15), revealing that he personally modeled for the Indiana Jones animatronics figure coming to Disney's Animal Kingdom.
"I'm the actual model," Ford said in a prerecorded message played for the crowd at the Honda Center in Anaheim. The actor also teased, "I'm coming to Walt Disney World soon."
The 84-year-old noted it marks the first time his face has ever been used in a Disney attraction anywhere in the world.
The existing Indiana Jones rides at Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea both feature a nondescript explorer figure rather than a likeness of Ford.
Imagineers Michael Hundgen and Chris Beatty joined the D23 showcase to unveil a digital 3D model currently being used to construct the figure. A first look at the Tsukán, a massive hand-sculpted serpentine creature central to the ride, was also shown to the crowd. The animatronic completely towers over the Imagineers working on it.
The attraction, officially titled Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent, sends riders alongside Jones as he explores an ancient temple beside a cenote, a subterranean cave where local legend holds that a passageway descends into the Maya Underworld. Guests get pulled through that portal and encounter bats, scorpions, fire, and snakes before a final showdown with the Tsukán.
The ride is being built on the existing infrastructure from the former Dinosaur attraction, which ran from Animal Kingdom's opening in 1998 until its permanent closure in February.
The Indiana Jones attraction will reside in the new Tropical Americas section of Animal Kingdom, which is slated for a 2027 opening with a phased rollout that could stretch into Spring 2028. The area will also feature an Encanto-themed ride.
Ford last played Indiana Jones on screen in 2023's Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
