James Mangold Compares Logan’s Ending To Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny, And Tells Us The ‘Most Important Thing’ He Could Say About Indy
Is this really the end of Dr. Jones?
The following story will get into spoilers for both Logan and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, so stop reading now if you don’t want to be spoiled on anything.
It wasn’t until I had my recent conversation with acclaimed filmmaker James Mangold that I made the deeper connections between the ending of his incredible Wolverine film, Logan, and the resolution he reached with Harrison Ford’s classic character for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Both movies were viewed as final chapters in the long-running sagas of these classic characters, and both had important messages to say about the personalities. In Mangold’s opinion, both were happy endings, and the very last moment of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny brings with it an even deeper meaning, which Mangold was happy to share.
During our exclusive conversation for Indiana Jones, Mangold and I got into the possibility of leaving Harrison Ford’s archaeologist in the past, a conversation they had but dismissed. To Mangold, it was more important to bring Indy back to New York City, where he could resolve his issues with Marion (Karen Allen). At the same time, Mangold ended the movie with Ford reaching out the window to grab Indy’s trademark hat. So I asked if that meant, indirectly, that the adventures for this character would continue. And he told CinemaBlend:
Putting the final nail in a character’s coffin, so to speak, presents all sorts of challenges. You can actually kill the hero off, as Mangold did with Wolverine at the end of Logan. Or you can signify that this probably is the last time that we will see them on screen, but their life will go on. With Indiana Jones, it comes down to Harrison Ford eventually aging out of the part, and the producers being unwilling to let another actor step into the role. (Good choice.)
To that end, I wondered what the final day on set was like for James Mangold and Harrison Ford, knowing that – for all intents and purposes – this was Ford’s final time playing the character. And Mangold told me:
As Mangold is learning, thanks to Hugh Jackman returning to Wolverine for Deadpool 3, even if you kill off a character, Hollywood will do whatever it wants. I don’t think Indiana Jones will ever be back. Or, wait. I don’t think Harrison Ford will ever play the part again. A studio still might try to bring the character back somehow. But that’s how Mangold and Ford wanted the character to go out, just like Logan marks how Mangold and Jackman wanted Wolverine to go out. At that time, anyway.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is currently available for purchase on 4K and Blu-ray, so make sure you add it to your Indy collection.
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Sean O’Connell is a journalist and CinemaBlend’s Managing Editor. Having been with the site since 2011, Sean interviewed myriad directors, actors and producers, and created ReelBlend, which he proudly cohosts with Jake Hamilton and Kevin McCarthy. And he's the author of RELEASE THE SNYDER CUT, the Spider-Man history book WITH GREAT POWER, and an upcoming book about Bruce Willis.