Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny Confronts Indy's Age In A Sincere And Honest Way

Everyone's favorite grump, Harrison Ford, isn't quite ready to sail off into the retirement sunset just yet, even if one of the most iconic characters he's ever portrayed is set for one final adventure. "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" has been billed as the grand conclusion to George Lucas' and Steven Spielberg's classic series, with director James Mangold stepping behind the camera and promising to directly address the elephant in the room.

Mangold has shown a particular interest in exploring a very specific kind of archetype, involving legends who are no longer in their prime. The most obvious example would be Hugh Jackman's Wolverine in "Logan," but this also applies to Christian Bale's veteran driver Ken Miles in "Ford v Ferrari" and even Russell Crowe's aged outlaw in "3:10 to Yuma." With that track record in mind, perhaps it was only inevitable that the talented writer/director would end up getting to call the shots on this latest and final "Indiana Jones" sequel. Unlike the (dare I say somewhat unfairly) maligned "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," however, fans can expect this "Indy" movie to tackle its themes of aging and time directly.

In the latest issue of Total Film, both the director and the star are in full agreement about why they even bothered with yet another movie about cinema's greatest Nazi-punching adventurer. According to Ford, "I wanted to see [Indiana Jones] at a later stage of his life, when he's beyond the youthful enthusiasm and capacity, and beset by age and [stifled by academia]. I wanted to see him engage on one more unexpected, unanticipated adventure."

Read on for Mangold's thoughts on "Indiana Jones and the Inevitability of Aging."

Age ... why'd it have to be age! The Nazis, some painfully regressive depictions of Native Americans, the Russians, God Himself, and even extraterrestrials have all proven to be no match for the skills of Indiana Jones. But perhaps Father Time has left some scars that nobody else has quite managed to do. With "The Dial of Destiny" showing all the makings of becoming Indy's swansong, there's no time like the present to dive deep into how much age has caught up with the whip-wielding archaeologist.

In the same issue of Total Film, director James Mangold explains how this was a chief concern for crafting this sequel and making it feel "honest."

"Not just in terms of him saying, 'Oh, my back aches.' That's easy and also obvious. I mean more that when you're at a point in your life when you're suddenly taking inventory about what has happened, and where you are because there's not much left ... That's not to say I wanted the movie to be 'Wild Strawberries' [the 1957 Ingmar Bergman film]. But I did want it to be honest."

Not only do these comments sound reminiscent of what Ford himself has spoken about in the past, but Mangold goes on to admit that he's always been interested in the concept of "a hero at twilight." As he puts it:

"To me, it's this interesting moment when someone we know as a kind of legend is no longer appreciated that way in their surroundings. Time has outpaced them; their legends and their adventures have become either forgotten or maybe not even perceived as so cool any more."

Time comes for us all, even for someone as objectively cool as Indy. "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" arrives in theaters June 30, 2023.