Jabarkan Pengembangan dan praproduksi dari Raiders of the Lost Ark

George ingin mendanai film ini sendirian, tetapi pada saat itu dia memiliki aset tunai yang terbatas. Kepala keuangan Lucasfilm Charles Webber dan pengacara Lucas Tom Pollock menawarkan proyek tersebut ke beberapa studio Hollywood. Mereka menolaknya, sebagian karena anggaran $ 20 juta yang diusulkan, tetapi juga karena kesepakatan yang ditawarkan Lucas. He wanted the studio to provide the budget, have no creative input and allow him to retain control of the licensing rights and any sequels. Despite believing the project had potential, studios considered this deal unacceptable. The studios were also hesitant because of Spielberg's involvement. Though generally successful as a director, he had delivered a succession of films over schedule and budget. His recent effort,  1941, was both over budget and a critical failure. Lucas refused to do the project without Spielberg.

Presiden Paramount Pictures Michael Eisner berkompromi dengan George dan menyetujui kesepakatannya dengan imbalan hak eksklusif atas sekuel apapun dan hukuman berat karena melebihi jadwal atau anggaran. George menyetujui persyaratan yang mencakup keterlibatannya dalam sekuel apa pun. Ia dilaporkan merundingkan gaji antara $1 juta dan $4 juta ditambah pembagian dari keuntungan kotor, meskipun laporan terpisah menyatakan dia hanya menerima keuntungan bersih. Steven menerima gaji hingga $1,5 juta sebagai direktur dan bagian dari laba kotor. George juga merundingkan $1 juta bagi Lucasfilm.

Spielberg tertarik untuk bekerja dengan produser Frank Marshall. Dia telah mengerjakan film independen yang lebih kecil, dan Spielberg percaya dia akan menjaga film sesuai jadwal dan anggaran. Spielberg juga menyewa sinematografer Douglas Slocombe dan desainer produksi Norman Reynolds karena dia menyukai karya-karya mereka sebelumnya dan kolaborator lamanya Michael Kahn sebagai editor and the film's executive producer, along with his acquaintance Howard Kazanjian, whom Lucas believed would be a disciplined influence and not indulge the filmmakers' larger ambitions. He also brought in his long-time collaborator Robert Watts as associate producer and production manager. Paramount mandated a filming schedule of 85 days; Lucas, Spielberg, and Marshall agreed on a self-imposed 73-day schedule. Spielberg was determined to avoid criticism for another schedule overrun.

Praproduksi yang berlangsung selama enam bulan bermula pada Desember 1979. Steven lebih suka menghabiskan waktu satu tahun bagi praproduksi, tetapi ia memilih bekerja lebih cepat demi menjaga biaya produksi tetap rendah. Steven dan George masing-masing mengerjakan proyek lain pada saat yang sama. Seniman Ed Verreaux, Dave Negron, Michael Lloyd, dan Joe Johnston provided extensive storyboarding, with over 80% of the script represented, equalling approximately 6,000 images. This helped Spielberg pre-visualize scenes and limit the time taken to set up shots. The script only described the opening of the ark as "all hell breaks loose", and the artists were tasked with envisioning what should happen. Each offered different aspects: spirits, flames, and weird light effects; Johnston was tasked with combining all three. Spielberg also had miniature sets of larger scenes built to plan layouts and lighting, including the Well of Souls, the Tanis dig site, and the Cairo marketplace. They contained 1-inch tall figurines to suggest how many extras would be required. Among changes made at this stage, Spielberg abandoned his idea for Toht to have a mechanical arm that could be replaced with a machine gun or flamethrower. Lucas said it put the film into a different genre.