Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny will be Harrison Ford's final romp as the iconic adventuring archaeologist. But Ford isn't feeling emotional about Indy's upcoming final cinematic escapade. The 80-year-old actor in fact says it’s time to move on.
"No. It’s time for me to grow up," Ford told Variety. "Six years ago, I thought maybe we ought to take a shot at making another one. And I wanted it to be about age because I think that rounds out the story that we’ve told and we brought it to the right place."
Ford last played Indy in 2008's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Many believed the franchise's fourth entry would be its last. Ford was 65 when the film was released. The movie received mixed reactions from both viewers and critics, however. Criticism included the film's convoluted plotline and implausible opening sequence. Resultingly, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull wasn't unanimously viewed as a fitting end to Indy's adventures.
"I mean, the last one ended in kind of a suspended animation," Ford said. "There was not a real strong feeling of the conclusion or the closure that I always hoped for, the roundness and speaking to this issue of age. Not making jokes about it, but making it a real thing."
The Decades-Spanning Adventures of Indiana Jones
Indy's age is a central element of the upcoming movie. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny takes place in 1969 around the time of the Apollo 11 moon landing. In the film, a retired Indy goes up against a former Nazi foe now working for NASA. Both are in pursuit of the ancient and mysterious artifact known as the Dial of Destiny. The artifact is purported to be able to change the course of human history.
Ford's career playing the action/adventure hero has spanned over four decades. 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark introduced the character to audiences as he battled Nazis in 1936. Both parties were in search of the biblical Ark of the Covenant.
1984's darker Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom found Indy saving an Indian village's children from an ancient dark but resurgent cult. 1989's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade put Indy up against the Nazis once more, this time in search of the literal Holy Grail. In that film, Indy was joined by his father, Dr. Henry Jones Sr., played by Sean Connery.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny arrives in theaters June 30.
Source: Variety