March 17, News.com.au

IT'S been over 25 years since Indiana Jones first burst onto screens cracking his bullwhip and dusting off his fedora after yet another death-defying scrape. Now aged 65, Harrison Ford is back.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - the fourth installment in the series since the 1981 release of Raiders of the Lost Ark - is due to be released worldwide on May 22.

Screen action hero Ford once again takes up the role of the crusty, swashbuckling archaeologist he last played in 1989. This time starring alongside Cate Blanchett.

And the few extra grey hairs and wrinkles on his grizzled features won't pass unnoticed. "There will ... be references that my character has definitely aged since the last movie," he said.

But in an interview with AFP, Ford refused to spill the beans on what thrills await audiences in the film dubbed by Paramount as "the adventure continues."

Age doesn't appear to have to slowed him down any, with Ford performing most of his own stunts in the movie directed once again by Steven Spielberg and produced by George Lucas.

"There's going to be a definite connection to the previous pictures ... and dialogue references, but it would be unfair to audiences for me to be more specific," Ford said, adding that Karen Allen, who played Indiana's love interest, Marion Ravenwood, in the original movie, is also back.

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photo: Back for more ... Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones / supplied