LOS ANGELES • At age 75, even the most loyal of Harrison Ford's fans must know that it will be quite a stretch for him to helm an action-driven movie.

Time is not on his side but Disney is not doing him any favours, announcing that the actor's big-screen return as adventurer Indiana Jones has been delayed yet again, to 2021.

The film was originally scheduled for release next year, but that date was later pushed back to 2020.

The new delay follows reports last week in Hollywood industry publications that the script had not been finished and that a new writer was being brought in to polish it.

The movie will reunite Ford (above) with director Stephen Spielberg in the franchise created by film-maker George Lucas.

But some fans wonder if it will ever get made because Ford might be dead by then - given the delay.

Others also feel that there is no need for a fifth edition since the previous one received mixed reviews.

The as-yet-untitled fifth film will come 13 years after Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, in which Jones reunites with his former love Marion (played by Karen Allen) and discovers he has a grown son (Shia LaBeouf).

Ford's most recent movie appearances were in last year's Blade Runner 2049 and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, where he reprised his role as swash-buckling adventurer Han Solo.

REUTERS