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Raiders’ theme Harrison Ford dusts his Fedora to star as Indiana Jones for the fourth time

The biggest question, is whether Harrison Ford at 65 will be able to do the required running and jumping. The trailer, shown as Paramount Films of India Ltd’s sneak peek at the forthcoming releases for the year, was stubbornly hazy with only long shots of Ford.

The plot is super secret and all we know is there is Shia LaBeouf (“Transformers”), Cate Blanchett looking super evil with a pointy haircut and Karen Allen! Remember her as Marion in “Raiders of the Lost Ark”? She was Indy’s feisty love interest, one who drank everyone under the table in Nepal and slapped Indy for dumping her. Allowances have apparently been made for Ford’s age and the film has some wryly mocking lines like Indy trying to jump across yawning chasms and admitting he thought it would be easier. So if time has passed, then the movie cannot use its favoured villains, the Nazis, though pictures of Blanchett have her kitted out like the Nazi Dr. Elsa from “The Last Crusade”. All questions will be answered when the movie opens worldwide on May 22.

There are other sequels as well. For one, the Mummy turns Chinese and in the guise of action star Jet Li, is bent on unleashing death and destruction in “Tomb of the Dragon Emperor”. Hell hath no fury for a mummy awakened! So Rick O’ Connell (the way Brendan Frasier alternates between mindless blockbusters and quirky Indy movies is fascinating) has to save the world once more. He is helped by his son Alex, wife Evelyn (Maria Bello, not the luscious Rachel Weisz) and Jonathan (John Hannah). Stephen Sommers does not return to helm the third film. Directorial duties are taken up by Rob Cohen who we know from testosterone-driven actioners like “The Fast and the Furious” and “XXX”.

Hellboy (Ron Perlman) also returns in “Hellboy II: The Golden Army”, where he saves the world from an unstoppable army of creatures with a little help from pyrokinetic girlfriend Liz (Selma Blair). The cute runaway animals of “Madagascar” return in “The Crate Escape”.

“The Incredible Hulk” tells the story of scientist Bruce Banner with a whole new cast and crew. Louis Leterrier replaces director Ang Lee from “The Hulk” while Edward Norton plays the mild-mannered Banner who turns into the green monster when angry in place of Eric Bana.

Debuting comic book heroes include the “Ironman” (Robert Downey Jr.) and Wesley Gibson in “Wanted.” The latter, based on Mark Millar’s graphic novel, is helmed by Timor Bekmambetov, the Russian director behind the phenomenally successful “Night Watch” series. The movie stars the dishy James McAvoy (“Atonement”) and the jolly Angelina Jolie. It would be nice to watch the lady with the bee-stung lips kick butt rather than make politically correct statements across the globe.

Then there is also the fantasy “The Spiderwick Chronicles” based on a best-selling series of books. And Mike Myers, otherwise known as the International Man of Mystery, Austin Powers, hits screens as “The Love Guru,” the story of a boy raised by gurus in an Indian ashram all set to help Americans to marital nirvana. Another movie to look out for is “Mamma Mia” based on the musical of the same name. With all the well-beloved songs by Swedish pop group ABBA, the movie tells the story of single mom Meryl Streep and her daughter’s quest to find her father among the three dishy men — Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgard — her mom dated at the time.

With dashing adventurers, cutesy animated animals, hot hunks and hotter babes, the summer of 2008 promises to be blistering.

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