Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny focuses on an Indy who is almost unrecognisable compared to the action hero of the original films. Set in the '60s, Indiana Jones is on the brink of retirement in the fifth installment, much older than when we saw him last, and with his adventuring days apparently far behind him.
Of course, Indy has one last epic quest to undertake – and Harrison Ford has been very clear that this will be his last time donning the fedora, too. With that in mind, comparisons to director James Mangold's Logan are easily drawn. Mangold weighed in on the similarities at an Indiana Jones 5 press conference attended by 12DOVE.
"In Logan, I knew we were making the last one," Mangold said. "But it was a character who had spent almost all his life tortured, a kind of [Frankenstein's monster] living in a world where his choices were to be a weapon, or to somehow try and hide himself from everybody. And so death seemed in a way to be a kind of salvation for him. In the way we tried to write it and stage it, it was, [because] the last 30 seconds of his life were probably the best 30 seconds of his life."
As Mangold explained, Indiana Jones 5 doesn't tread the same ground. "That was not part of this movie," he continued. "One of the most beautiful aspects of all the Indiana Jones films – and I think led by Harrison's performance all these years – is humour, charm, a kind of screwball adventure, a love of Golden Age films, particularly romps, around the world romps; these were the inspirations to the filmmakers who first started laying out these films."
Indy's advanced age was also a factor. "I had a star who was in his 70s," Mangold added. "So it's clear that we can't deny reality, as Harrison has said. Indy's older… we had to focus on what that is. And to me, that's a question that doesn't get asked very often: what is it to be someone who's led such a dynamic life, who's seen so much, who's conquered and won and survived adversity and odds – but then life descends into normalcy, and the world moves on, and those adventures aren't presenting themselves anymore, or you're not even necessarily ready for them. Those questions can sound grim, but they also are the first chapter in a story about a guy who goes on one last ride.
"So that, to me, all seemed really interesting, and the opposite strategy in a way – although the externals are the same with Logan – which was that this is about his awakening, and about a character coming out of a slumber having been numbed by the way the world has maybe passed him by," he explained.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny hits UK cinemas this June 28, and US theaters this June 30. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming major movie release dates for everything else 2023 has in store.
