…the mileage

The fedora, the whip, the smile, the artifacts…cue the rising Indy theme. Raiders of the Lost Ark, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg’s collaboration lovechild, debuted 42 years ago. Since then, there have been 3 sequels and a TV show, most of which are beloved. Fast forward to 2023, fifteen years after the last sequel and worst outing for the franchise, and it’s time for Indiana Jones 5.

According to Rotten Tomatoes, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’s plot reads, “Daredevil archaeologist Indiana Jones races against time to retrieve a legendary dial that can change the course of history. Accompanied by his goddaughter, he soon finds himself squaring off against Jürgen Voller, a former Nazi who works for NASA.”

To see or not to see

I’m torn, as I’m sure many Indiana Jones fans are about there being another movie. The last film was not great and may have actually damaged the franchise. Part of that damage was that they could have had three generations of Jones boys in the film, but opted instead to kill off Henry Sr between the 3rd and 4th movies. But that is a rant for another time. 

While I want to see more of Indy having adventures in exotic locales, dealing with dangerous people, and telling us near-true stories about supernatural artifacts, I don’t want to see the alternative, which is the bad version of all of those franchise tropes. Even if they get all those essential pieces correct, things will likely feel different this time.

Old Man Indy 

This story takes place in 1969, thirty-three years after the events of Raiders of the Lost Ark, which should put Jones somewhere in his 60s. The reality is Harrison Ford is 80 years old and was likely 79 when the movie was shot.

With Ford being 80 in real life, it’s hard to imagine what this adventure can look like. Will he get “lost in his own library” like his buddy Brody or tear his rotator cuff trying to crack his whip? Let’s hope not. Ford has publicly commented about wanting Indy to act like an old man in the movie, though, so don’t expect any backflips.

At the same time, fanboys (of the wrong type) are already complaining about the “woke” idea of a much younger woman taking much of the action instead of the 80-year-old titular character. I don’t have a problem with this aspect yet, as it makes sense. Did Henry Sr swing from a whip and punch a bunch of Nazis as an older man in The Last Crusade? Nope. Indy can take an advisory role using his years and mileage to provide insight and wisdom a younger Jones never had to his youthful accomplice.

A New Creative Cast

This is where things get a bit concerning regarding the movie’s success and acceptance by fans. There’s no George Lucas to write or oversee the story. Instead, we have some new writers to the franchise and one of the writers from Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Not great. 

Then there’s no replacing Steven Spielberg when it comes to directing, but that’s exactly what they’ve done for this Jones sequel. The director is James Mangold, who has some outstanding movies to his credit but is new to the franchise and not Spielberg. It’s what he previously directed, though, that raised my concern regarding the film’s outcome and my interest in seeing it through.

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR JAMES MANGOLD MOVIES

When you look at Mangold’s directorial credits, they all seemingly have one thing in common:

• Ford vs. Ferrari -tragic death at the end
• 3:10 to Yuma -tragic death at the end
• Logan -DOUBLE tragic death at the end (Yes, Professor was a bit before the end)
• Runner Up: Girl, Interrupted –tragic death of a side character and an overall dark film.

To make things worse, Mangold, to his credit, also acts as a writer on some of these films, just as he is on Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. So what’s the problem, you ask?

Will they kill him?

The problem is that this is the last Indiana Jones movie. Harrison Ford said he is Indy, so without him, there shouldn’t be any more Indy movies, and I agree with that, at least for another 25 years or so. This is supposed to be the ending of the series, the star is 80 years old in the film, and we have a director who kills off characters at the end of his movies writing and directing. Doesn’t look good for Indy. The guy KILLED WOLVERINE. I mean, c’mon!

Indiana Jones is a beloved character more so than the live-action Wolverine. Even if he is a grumpy old man now, he’s still snarky and childish, loves history, and is still Indy. So my predicament is whether I want to see Indiana Jones die on the screen. It makes sense as the character is now an old man who’s lived a full life and who’s often a hero going out on his last adventure. Sacrificing himself to save the future of archaeology or protecting the future of the country he loves would not be a surprising or disappointing way to go. I just don’t know if I need or want to see that. 

The adventures never end

For me currently, and probably most of my life Indiana Jones is the rollicking theme song, the rolling boulder, and the adventure. In my mind and in the lore, Indy has been on countless adventures and recovered numerous artifacts. He’s probably on an adventure right now, though, maybe one with a little less danger. I don’t really want that to ever go away. 

Once he dies on screen- no more adventures; plus, I’ll always have the imagery of his death scene or grave if they decide to just show him passing from old age in the future. Depending on how it happens, they could even have a death theme, and then I’ll have that in my head along with the imagery. While all roads point to him dying in this movie, it’s only a theory pieced together by many things that make sense. 

But if they don’t kill him, how do they end it? They could just let him be, right? He’s earned the right to be a survivor and timeless character like Tom Sawyer, who we always imagine to be out adventuring with a childlike spirit. We never think of old man Tom or even Tom Sawyer’s last words. 

Here’s where the most recent piece of my theory comes into play. The first critic reviews for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny are in, and many say the ending is outrageous and possibly more so than the lauded alien at the end of Crystal Skull. 

A wild finale

What’s crazier than an alien? Is it Indy surviving or dying related? Could it involve Indy living on through some supernatural means? Does history change somehow? Can Henry Sr return somehow?

We’ll have to wait until the end of the month to see. Now there is one more insight, but it’s a bit spoilerish even though most reviews openly discuss it. I won’t mention it here, but it basically explains what the Dial of Destiny does. Once you know this, the possible end of the movie suddenly becomes much more fascinating. But in the spirit of Dr. Jones, I’ll leave you with just that hint, and you will have to dig up the answer on your own if you want to know.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny swings into theaters on June 30, 2023.