With the saga of Indiana Jones coming to a end in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the legendary Harrison Ford weighed in on where the film’s final scenes left his iconic hero.
Indiana Jones 5 finally made its way into theaters last week, and with it, Ford’s 42-year journey with the character came to a close with one last big-screen adventure.
Ford Reflects on Indiana Jones 5 Ending
Warning - The rest of this article contains spoilers for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
Director James Mangold’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny ends in quite a touching manner. After the death of their son, Indy and Marion couldn’t find a way to keep their marriage together. But at the conclusion of the film, Marion (played once again by Karen Allen) surprisingly arrives at Jones’ New York apartment.
What follows is a very poignant callback to 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark and the hope that even after all this time and tragedy, Marion and Indiana will find a way to make it work.
Dr. Jones himself, Harrison Ford, offered his thoughts on Dial of Destiny’s ending scenes to Entertainment Weekly:
“I think it’s a good choice to leave him in the condition we see him at the end of the film. Most of his problems have been solved, dealt with. He’s back to the form that we like to see him in, I think. And I think it’s a wonderful last scene... I really like it.”
Ford’s comment that the character returns to “the form that we like to see him in,” likely refers to the fact that in the movie, Indy dons his signature leather jacket and fedora, arms himself with his trusty whip, and throws himself back into the action.
Many thought that Indiana Jones 5 would ultimately kill off the intrepid archaeologist, but James Mangold had other plans. The director invoked Wolverine’s demise in another notable film of his (2017’s Logan) to explain how the last Indiana Jones movie concluding with the death of its beloved lead would’ve held “no attraction:”
“Honestly, I enjoy that people were so atwitter about it, because to me, there really is no attraction to just getting thousands of people in a theater and hitting them in a head with a hammer... Death is not an ending. The reason death worked in 'Logan' is because of the beautiful irony of his death, which is that he lived such a painful life, that it was only in the last 30 seconds of his life that he actually got to experience love. And that to me was what was so moving about that ending.
Mangold also quipped on Wolverine’s inclusion in the upcoming Deadpool 3 to make a point about the integrity of endings in the world of franchise cinema:
“And [Jackman’s] off making another one right now [with 'Deadpool 3']. So you could see the finality of that.”
Indiana Jones 5’s Ending Works Well
After a franchise spanning over four decades, headlined by one of Hollywood‘s most celebrated actors, Dr. Henry Jones Jr. has apparently cracked his bullwhip for the final time.
The fan-favorite adventurer has delighted countless fans with his no-nonsense, Nazi-punching, idol-grabbing style. He’s located several high-profile historical artifacts, usually putting his life on the line to do so. And he’s encountered a variety of memorable friends along the way (like John Rhys-Davies’ Sallah, who returns in the new film.)
But now, at 80 years old, Harrison Ford has decided that it’s time to hang up his gear and exit the role. Now, Lucasfilm’s top brass has promised repeatedly that this is it and the role of Indiana Jones will never be played by anyone except Ford (who, for as much as he values the character, is emphatically done.)
This means no comeback, and perhaps more importantly, no reboot.
The studio likely hasn’t ruled out some more installments featuring Jones in his formative years, but much of that ground was already covered in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles TV series which ran in the early 90s. That’s also not to mention that one Indy spin-off show has already been kiboshed by Disney+.
Still, Dial of Destiny acts as a fitting final act for the venerable treasure hunter. He went back out in the field one more time, retrieved Archimedes’ dial, and got in a few good licks in the process.
And at the end of the day, he got to patch things up with the love of his life, Marion Ravenwood. James Mangold stated that he wanted to make the film as a study of “a hero at sunset,” and that is something that many fans would agree the director accomplished.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is in theaters now.
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