It feels like only yesterday that Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny director James Mangold was calling out the trolls who’ve been spreading malicious rumors regarding the upcoming sequel on social media… which is because it was.
At this stage, a veteran filmmaker should know better than to respond to those actively seeking to tear down his latest project, especially when most of the scuttlebutt appears to be based on unfounded rumors by the sort of hate-mongering folks who see a woman playing a major role in a blockbuster franchise’s final chapter and instantly cry foul that “wokeness” is on the agenda.
Based on Mangold’s comments, that definitely doesn’t appear to be the case, but the brains behind Logan couldn’t help himself yet again when Twitter users began to unfavorably compare the CGI in the first Dial of Destiny trailer with the sumptuous visuals James Cameron has been throwing our way in the various teasers and clips promoting Avatar: The Way of Water.
Even fellow social media users have gained a semblance of self-awareness to make a point of urging Mangold not to engage with his detractors, especially when he’s got six months of post-production and press to go before anyone even gets the chance to see the end product on the big screen.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny won plenty of praise for what could be the best use of de-aging we’ve ever seen in a major Hollywood production, but that doesn’t mean folks aren’t going to nitpick everything else as much as possible.