‘I didn’t need more adults in the movie’: ‘Indiana Jones’ director never even considered a Ke Huy Quan comeback

We’re just a week out from Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, when we’ll find out once and for all if the film simply caught the critics on a bad day, or if the swansong of Harrison Ford’s legendary character really does fizzle out as unspectacularly as the reviews indicate.

Whatever the case, dedicated fans of the gung-ho archaeologist are no doubt still in for quite the nostalgic treat; indeed, slap that iconic music over any scenario with the fedora-clad action hero, and you’re guaranteed to elicit a sparkle or two in at least a couple of eyes.

Not every nostalgia itch is set to be scratched with Dial of Destiny, though. For instance, the film will mark three entries since we last saw Short Round, the fan-favorite sidekick from Temple of Doom played by Ke Huy Quan, so anyone hoping for what would probably be a heartwarming reunion should check their daydreams at the door.

Director James Mangold, in fact, never even considered bringing Short Round back into the fold. In an interview with Uproxx, Mangold noted how the film’s plot required a certain amount of space that only so many characters could fill, and also admitting that Everything Everywhere All at Once, the site of Quan’s resurgence, had not made its way to the public zeitgeist at the time Mangold began filming, so even if there was space for Short Round, the actor simply wasn’t on Mangold’s radar.

“I didn’t need more adults in the movie. I was looking for a kid. So for me, the adventure was to find… But, also, Everything Everywhere was nowhere and not in my mind when this movie was happening, because it was probably shot at about the exact same time, maybe concurrently.”

That’s not to say we’ll never see Short Round again, of course; Dial of Destiny may be the end for the main man himself, but Disney won’t soon want to let go of this storied IP, and between characters like a grown up Short Round, newcomer Helena Shaw, or any number of adventurers whose stories could yet be told, who’s to say that the world of Indiana Jones will retire along with its eponymous protagonist?

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny releases to theaters on June 30.