Having already reprised Han Solo in two of the three Star Wars Sequel Trilogy movies and Rick Deckard in Blade Runner 2049, Harrison Ford is returning to yet another beloved character from his filmography. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny will reunite moviegoers with Dr. Henry Jones Jr. this summer, 15 years after we last saw him in Kingdom of the Crustal Skull. As for why Ford decided to play Indy again, it boiled down to him wanting to see the character’s journey all the way to the end.
At 80 years old, Harrison Ford wouldn’t have been faulted for not wanting to return to an action-heavy role like Indiana Jones, especially since Kingdom of the Crustal Skull left him at a place where he could have easily retired from the adventuring life. But while speaking with Variety, Ford shared that he’s been wanting to return to this character for a long time, saying:
I always wanted to do it. I wanted to do the rest of the story to see the end of his career.
If you’re going to end Indiana Jones’ story, doing so without Harrison Ford would have been a travesty. Luckily, Harrison Ford was game for another round of wearing the fedora and wielding the whip, though this will be definitely his “last time” doing so. Given the polarizing reception Kingdom of the Crustal Skull received from fans, fingers crossed that Dial of Destiny fares better since this will for sure be our last time seeing Ford in this role. There is no Indiana Jones 6 lined up afterwards.
Of course, just because Harrison Ford’s time as Indiana Jones is ending doesn’t mean the Indiana Jones franchise as a whole is going away. Indy’s younger years could easily be explored more in novels and comic books, and there may come an opportunity for another actor to play the character in his younger years, like what Corey Carrier and Sean Patrick Flanery did in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. Speaking of which, while there is a new Indiana Jones series in development for Disney+, it’s rumored that it will focus on Indy’s mentor Abner Ravenwood, who died prior to Raiders of the Lost Ark. Still, that’s an easy enough way to slot in a younger Indy in a guest starring or recurring capacity, allowing for the character’s history to be fleshed out and not take away from how things ended with Ford.
As for what’s coming in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the 2023 movie release takes place in 1969 against the backdrop of the Space Race, and sees Indy coming into a conflict with a Nazi who’s been recruited into the United States’ moon-landing program. The Indiana Jones 5 cast also includes Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Kretschmann, Shaunette Renée Wilson, Boyd Holbrook, Toby Jones, Antonio Banderas and John Rhys-Davies. James Mangold took over directorial duties from Steven Spielberg, as well as co-wrote the Dial of Destiny script with Jez and John-Henry Butterworth.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny opens in theaters on June 30. If you’re interested in streaming the previous four Indiana Jones movies beforehand, make sure you’re subscribed to Paramount+.
