Harrison Ford Says Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Is Very Much About Addressing Indy’s Age

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny seems like the kind of movie that is being self-indulgent and pushing the believability of a septuagenarian adventurer battling Nazis. However, actor Harrison Ford is now 80-years-old and his iconic archeologist is only a decade behind him, and that is something Ford wanted to make sure was dealt with in the new movie.

When Ford returned for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, there were some who quested whether the action hero could pull off his old Indy routine given his advancing years. Anyone suggesting that he would be back one more time 15 years later to do it all again, over four decades after making his debut as Indy in 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark, would have been sent out of the room. But this summer, Indiana Jones returns for one more adventure, and Ford wanted to embrace the character’s age and not run away from it. Speaking to Total Film, Ford said:

“I always wanted to see a completion of the character. 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. I wanted it to concern age. I wanted it to confront the issues of age for a character who had always been adventurous, youthful, and capable, physically. I wanted to see the effects of age on the character.”

Related: Steven Spielberg Heaps Praise on Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny: ‘It’s Really, Really a Good Indiana Jones Film’

Harrison Ford Hints At More Returning Characters From Indy’s Past.

The Indiana Jones franchise has seen many characters come and go in Indy’s life, but one of the most important people to have featured is Marion Ravenwood, played by Karen Allen. So far, it has not been confirmed whether she will reprise her role one more time for the adventurer’s final outing. It would be a shame if she did not manage to put in an appearance and completely close the circle that began back in Raiders. While discussing how stunts had been a big part of the Indiana Jones movies and how he fared with this time in comparison, he seemed to hint that there could well be at least one surprise character coming in the movie. He said:

“Every one of these films beat the sh*t out of me. [Age] just makes everything he does a bit more difficult, a little bit more complicated, and a little bit more daunting, but he has some companions on his adventure who are part of the process, not just Phoebe…”

It is already known that John Rhys-Davies will be back to reprise his role of Sallah, but who else could be joining Indy on his final adventure is being kept a mystery for now. Hopefully it stays that way to leave something unexpected for fans to see when Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny arrives in theaters on June 30, 2023.