ON THE RUN AGAIN : Are There More Fords in Our Future?

Screenwriter Jeb Stuart and screen star Harrison Ford seem to be suffering from bouts of sequelitis.

Stuart, who co-wrote the box-office blockbuster and Oscar nominee “The Fugitive,” has been tapped to write “Fugitive 2.”

Missing from the screenplay credits will be the prequel’s co-author: David Twohy. While the film’s producer Arnold Kopelson and financier/distributor Warner Bros. are mum on details of what the sequel’s storyline will be, sources close to the project say several possibilities are floating around. Stuart is holed up in his Connecticut home, typing away on the third “Indiana Jones” sequel for Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, and isn’t taking phone calls.

One possibility has the one-armed man, Sykes (Andreas Katsulas), and his colleague in crime, Dr. Charles Nichols (Jeroen Krabbe), getting out of jail to taunt Dr. Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford) once more. Kopelson’s camp is reportedly hoping to persuade Ford and Tommy Lee Jones (who is nominated for a best supporting actor Academy Award as U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard) into reteaming for the sequel.

Those close to Ford who were involved in the movie remake of the popular TV series say that the actor originally balked at the notion of appearing in another sequel. He’s currently in Mexico filming “Clear and Present Danger”--based on the Tom Clancy novel and sequel to the author’s “Patriot Games,” which also starred Ford. He’s also expected to star in the “Indiana Jones” sequel sometime next year.

“During the third act (of filming “The Fugitive”) someone said a scene was being cut so it could be used for a sequel, when Harrison snapped and said he wasn’t doing a (expletive) sequel,” said one source. He wasn’t going to commit to a sequel if the film flopped, according to a source close to Ford.

But now that the picture has grossed $190 million domestically (and an extra $176.1 million worldwide) and is an Oscar contender, Ford has changed his tune a bit. He’s adopting a wait-and-consider attitude until seeing Stuart’s script. Delivery is expected in June.