Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny director James Mangold recently explained how the upcoming sequel differs from one of his previous blockbusters, Logan.
Mangold discussed what sets Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and Logan apart in an interview with Collider. "What's different is that Logan truly was a kind of tragic adventure," he said. "But also, in my own way of looking at it, a kind of beautiful ending for the character of the Wolverine who had never really experienced peace in his life, and in his final moments found love and a kind of grace, even if it was only the last 30 seconds of his life that he found that and that he knew what that tasted and felt like. To me, [it] was really moving. In Indiana Jones' case, I wasn't, first of all, ending the character, but beyond that, there's a tonal difference between these kinds of movies. Indiana Jones is an entertainment and it's an adventure, and it's got to have joy and humor and crazy characters."
"And even Indy himself, very different than the grimness that Logan represents, is a series of contradictions," Mangold continued. "He can be fussy, he can be demanding, he can be cowardly as well as brave, his punches can have no effect and never land. So there's a wonderful set of contradictions to the character that [star] Harrison [Ford] and Steven [Spielberg] and George [Lucas] and Larry Kasdan all developed, and that I wanted to continue, but I had to find it in a new age, in his 70s." At the same time, Mangold also acknowledged that Dial of Destiny and Logan's aging protagonists mean that the two films have plenty in common, too.
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And while Mangold's interview with Collider hints that Dial of Destiny won't end with Indiana Jones' death, Lucasfilm is billing the film as the character's last-ever adventure. This tracks with recent comments by Harrison Ford, who has made it clear he has no intention of taking up Indy's signature bullwhip again for a sixth Indiana Jones installment. In a recent interview, Ford was adamant that he won't play Indiana Jones again and predicted that Dial of Destiny will mark the intrepid archaeologist's final appearance on the big screen.
That doesn't mean Indy won't be back in other media, though. Notably, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy recently suggested that the Indiana Jones franchise could continue as a Disney+ streaming series, although she added that Lucasfilm is "not doing anything to replace Indiana Jones."
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny arrives in cinemas on June 30, 2023.
Source: Collider