THE RAIDERS
CHASER
Meet Dr. David West Reynolds:
Best-selling writer, unconventional archaeologist,
and believer in the Hero’s Journey.
Raised in Indiana, Dr. David West Reynolds earned his doctorate in archaeology from the University of Michigan. He has dug and surveyed Roman sites in Egypt and Tunisia, scouted Anasazi ruins in the American Southwest, and been a guide on the Inca Trail in Peru. Amongst his colleagues Reynolds is known for his analysis of the Severan Marble Plan, a 40-foot high marble wall map of ancient Rome.
Interplanetary archaeologist
In a creative application of his archaeological skills, Reynolds relocated the lost original Star Wars movie filming locations in the deserts of Tunisia and Death Valley. The successful endeavor led him from academia to Hollywood, where he joined Lucasfilm to work with Indiana Jones creator George Lucas.
Location hunting trend-setter
Magazine articles in Star Wars Insider popularized Reynolds’ pioneering expeditions, and the idea spread quickly amongst fans. Pinpointing and visiting movie locations has now become a tradition practiced by enthusiasts all over the world. In 2018 USA Today reported that in Tunisia alone, hundreds of thousands of people have followed in Reynolds’ footsteps.
Star Wars Creator
As a member of the Star Wars creative team at Skywalker Ranch, the archaeologist drew on his deep knowledge of history and myth to develop intricate and compelling backstory for the fantasy universe. Every Star Wars lightsaber is powered by crystals Reynolds invented to give the sacred Jedi weapons an organic, hand-crafted aspect. All of Reynolds’ work was approved as canon by George Lucas personally.
Leading a team of top artists, model-makers, and photographers, Reynolds wrote a series of guidebooks that revealed the Star Wars universe in unprecedented detail. The books became an international phenomenon, selling millions of copies and giving London publisher DK their first New York Times #1 best-seller. Reynolds’ writing has been regarded as so essential to the Star Wars saga that in updated editions most of his work remained in print for over two decades.
After leaving Lucasfilm, Reynolds wrote books with NASA, National Geographic, and the Smithsonian, including a definitive popular history of the Apollo moon landings.
Best-selling author
As the resident archaeologist at Skywalker Ranch, Reynolds was asked to curate Indiana Jones props in the Lucasfilm Archives, including a box of Indy’s bullwhips and the Grail Diary from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The remarkable authenticity he saw intrigued Reynolds, who wondered why Hollywood movie props would be crafted with such deep research and museum-quality authenticity. That curiosity led to his quest to investigate in depth the real historical connections behind Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Indiana Jones Curator
If anyone is in a position to comment on the realities of an Indiana Jones life, Reynolds seems pretty well qualified. Adventures and expeditions have taken him from unmapped caves and sand-choked Egyptian pyramids to steaming Swahili jungle ruins and frozen Arctic seas. He has found and excavated dinosaur fossils, including rare dinosaur eggshell, and provided the names for two new species of dinosaurs, including Medusaceratops. At the bottom of an unexplored shaft in “Skeleton Cave” Reynolds discovered thousands of Ice Age animal bones. Although Reynolds prefers his DeLorean and is a capable horseback rider, he has also traveled via biplane, camel, dogsled, helicopter, icebreaker, and submarine.
Adventurer
Keynote speaker
Working with George Lucas taught Reynolds above all the importance of storytelling. Today Reynolds is a dynamic keynote speaker and a master of the power of narrative. He shares how organizations and individuals can use the transformative power of storytelling in life and business. Reynolds is best known for the way he reveals the profound living relevance of the mythic Hero's Journey. He makes convention appearances and speaks internationally.
Media subject
The unconventional archaeologist has been profiled in books, magazines, newspapers, online articles, radio, and network news videos. As a member of the Lucas-era Star Wars “family” Reynolds has appeared along with his Oscar-winning friends and colleagues in high-profile Star Wars documentaries such as the BBC’s “A Long Time Ago,” Galaxy Built on Hope, and Icons Unearthed: Star Wars (streaming on Amazon). A museum smashed attendance records in 2024 with an exhibition entitled “Star Wars Meets Indiana Jones: The Hero’s Journey of Dr. David West Reynolds.”
Filmmaker
At Skywalker Ranch David created documentary shorts for the official Star Wars website and Lucasfilm press kits. He was the creative consultant for the record-breaking Star Wars: Episode I trailer, and also for an MTV music video that premiered John Williams’ “Duel of the Fates.” In 2018 David launched a successful Kickstarter campaign to produce an independent hour-long documentary about his work as a Star Wars location hunter in Tunisia. Chasing Raiders is his first documentary made for mainstream distribution.