Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny has been making its theatrical rounds for nearly a week now, and while it could be faring better at the box office to put it lightly, the fifth and final entry in the franchise was never about the bottom line; it was about giving this legendary character the sendoff that he deserved, and ensuring that George Lucas and Steven Spielberg saw the end of that five-film contract they signed back in 1979.
Whether Dial of Destiny did a proper job of bidding Indy farewell is a matter of opinion, but it was certainly permeated with a certain shade of finality thanks to the handful of legacy characters the film elected to toy with. Indy himself, of course, is the most prominent example, but there was palpable nostalgia in getting to see the likes of John Rhys-Davies and Karen Allen once again.
In another life, however, one of those returns would have packed even more of a punch. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Allen revealed that her character, Indy’s wife Marion Ravenwood, was much more involved in the story when Steven Spielberg was still at the helm, and when the illustrious filmmaker eventually made the choice to step down, the subsequent arrival of James Mangold shrouded the film in mystery for her.
“Steven and I had spoken after he decided he was gonna step down as director, and he said to me, “You’re gonna love working with James Mangold.” And I said, “Oh, great.” So I knew James had hired new writers and that there was going to be a whole new approach with a new director and new writers, but I was really going into the unknown.”
She would go on to reveal that while she was disappointed about her reduced role, she was ultimately happy with how the story ended.
And the next thing I knew, I was reading a script that told [Dial of Destiny’s] story, and of course, I was disappointed. But I was really happy that they came back together in the end.
There’s no doubt plenty of longtime Jones fans wondering what Dial of Destiny might have been like if Lucas and Spielberg had stayed involved the way they have throughout the franchise, myself included. But at the end of the day, I can’t say I’m at all disappointed with the Dial of Destiny that we got; it’s no Raiders, but there was more than enough fun to be had.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is now playing in theaters.
