Sean Connery says no to next 'Indiana Jones' film

LOS ANGELES, June 8 (Reuters) Retirement has been good to actor Sean Connery.

So good, in fact, the 76-year-old Scottish actor has decided against appearing in the upcoming ''Indiana Jones'' movie, the fourth in the series, Connery said in a Web posting on Wednesday.

''In the end, retirement is just too damned much fun,'' Connery wrote on Web site indianajones.com.

Fans had hoped the actor might be lured from retirement to reprise his role as Jones' dad, Professor Henry Jones. Harrison Ford previously announced he would again star in the title role as the daring treasure hunter who battles exotic animals, jumps off cliffs and wields a whip with extreme precision.

The film's backers, who include famed director/producers Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, said Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett and veteran actors John Hurt and Ray Winstone will join the fourth movie.

It is expected to land in theaters in May 2008, but the title and story are being kept under close wraps. Spielberg will direct and Lucas will co-write and produce.

Connery's participation was the subject of much speculation among fans of the blockbuster series that has earned nearly 1.2 billion dollars at global box offices.

He has enjoyed a long career in Hollywood playing the first British super agent 007, James Bond, and he won rave reviews for his turn as Jones' dad in 1989's third ''Indy'' flick, ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.'' While he will not be on the movie's set, Connery did have some advice for Ford: ''Demand that the critters be digital, the cliffs be low, and for goodness sake keep that whip by your side at all times in case you need to escape from the stunt coordinator!'' REUTERS DS KN0952