Harrison Ford himself might only want to allude to its shortcomings in the vaguest way possible, but everyone else on the planet knows that Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is comfortably the weakest of the Indiana Jones movies. On a recent rewatch ahead of the incoming fifth installment, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, this Indy and Marvel fan was stunned to discover the much-maligned movie slips in a jaw-dropping bit of an unintended foreshadowing at Ford’s MCU future.
After being recovered from that dang nuclear bomb-proof fridge following the film’s opening sequence, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull sees Dr. Jones Jr. being grilled by the FBI. As his old friend George “Mac” McHale (Ray Winstone) has turned out to be a Russian turncoat, Indy’s own loyalties are put under question. He’s saved from the interrogation, however, by the arrival of another old friend from his days in the U.S. Army during WW2. One General Ross, as played by Alan Dale.
For anyone revisiting Kingdom these days with an avid interest in the Marvel universe, the name General Ross should jump out immediately. Why? Because Ford himself is about to play a character formerly known as General Ross in the MCU. Starting with Captain America: Brave New World, Ford is replacing the late William Hurt as Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, who will continue his ambitious career trajectory in the film, progressing from Secretary of State to President of the United States.
As an additional ironic wrinkle, Indy 4‘s General Ross is portrayed by Alan Dale, himself a veteran of both the MCU and the Captain America franchise — Dale was World Security Council member Douglas Rockwell in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull might not exactly hit the spot for Indy fans, but maybe it has more to offer Marvel fans instead.