We live in a sequel-hungry world, in which the audiences are dying for the next installment and the filmmakers are dying for the money that’s guaranteed to roll in once they make the next one. Sure it means our children’s children will be watching Shrek: The Shrekpire Fights Back, but hey, tradition’s tradition.

We’re all well aware that one of the original sequel franchises, Indiana Jones, is heading back for another go-round, but would you guess they’re trying to keep this one kicking for another few decades too? It sounds a bit like wild, hopeful speculation, but Vanity Fair is reporting that none other than Shia LaBeouf is set to inherit Indy’s whip and fedora.

The evidence? Well, in the Vanity Fair photo shoot for this month’s cover, Shia’s wearing a black leather jacket, and Harrison Ford is wearing a brown one. And, uh, the Internet has been claiming for a while that LaBeouf plays Indy’s son in the movie, though no one attached will confirm it. Most convincing though, at least according to Jim Windolf, who’s writing the article, is the following exchange with Steven Spielberg:

“When I asked him why he hadn’t gone forward with the Indy IV script written by writer-director Frank Darabont, he said, “In this case George [Lucas] was passionate that this was not the story he wanted to tell at this point in the Indiana Jones saga …” Noting that he had used the magic phrase “at this point,” I followed up by asking him, “Is that leaving room open for another one?” To which Spielberg replied, “Oh, I don’t know. I haven’t even thought about that. I’m still in the cutting room. I can’t even think beyond the next cut.”

Well... OK, if you say so. I am personally not setting up my spot in line for tickets to Indy Jr., The Next Frontier just yet, but coming off a sequel-tastic summer like 2007, anything is possible. Will the world accept another Indiana Jones, particularly one with a name like Shia? (Say what you will about Harrison Ford, but damn if that name doesn’t convey gravitas). Keep watching until this summer, when the box office numbers for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull will make the sequel decision for everyone.