Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny director James Mangold addressed why the titular archaeologist's son isn't in the new film.
Speaking with Variety on the red carpet at Dial of Destiny's U.S. premiere, James Mangold addressed why Shia LaBeouf's Henry Jones III, better known as Mutt Williams, who starred alongside Harrison Ford's Indiana Jones in 2008's Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, doesn't appear in the soon-to-be-released movie. Simply put, Mangold believes there wasn't any room for Mutt, despite being a central character in the Indiana Jones series. "I think the point I had was that when I came on, I wanted to capture that wonderful energy between Indy and an intrepid female character," he said. "So that was my first goal, and there's only so many people you can edge into a picture."
Mangold's quotes reference the casting of Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Helena Shaw, Indy's goddaughter, who Mangold previously called a key catalyst of Dial of Destiny. Helena features as Indy's partner-in-crime rather than Mutt, a motorcycle-riding greaser who teamed with Indy after he was caught in a plot by the Soviet Union to uncover secrets behind essential artifacts. Later in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Indy finds out Mutt is his son, who he fathered with Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), his love interest from the first Indiana Jones title, Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Previously, Mangold said little about why LaBeouf wasn't brought back for Dial of Destiny, revealing last December that fans would "find out what happened" to Mutt in the movie. Also known for playing Sam Witwicky in the Transformers franchise, LaBeouf's most recent movie feature was in 2022's Padre Pio, an Italian-German biographical film about the eponymous priest who was venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church. Meanwhile, LaBeouf faces legal troubles as he's set to stand trial for sexual battery and assault charges stemming from a lawsuit filed in 2020 by his ex-girlfriend Tahliah "FKA Twigs" Barnett.
The Reception to Indiana Jones 5
Early reviews for Dial of Destiny have been mixed at best ahead of its release later this month. Marking the final adventure for Indy in the long-running film franchise, Dial of Destiny currently boasts an average critical rating of 55%, with many insiders suggesting the latest sequel is unnecessary, lacks energy and relies too much on throwbacks. Additionally, the summer blockbuster is projected to earn significantly less domestically during its opening weekend than Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, earning up to $70 million in local theaters compared to the $100 million raked in by its predecessor. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull grossed more worldwide than any previous Indiana Jones movie with $790.6 million, though fans and Ford admitted their unhappiness with the sequel, while LaBeouf's performance as Mutt was widely panned.
Dial of Destiny may need to break franchise records to earn a box-office profit as the action-adventure title took a staggering $300 million to make, as confirmed by Disney. Also starring Mads Mikkelsen, Antonio Banderas, Boyd Holbrook and Shaunette Renée Wilson, Dial of Destiny is set in the space race of 1969, though it involves a callback to the World War II era and a de-aged Ford thanks to advanced technology and unused Lucasfilm footage.
Dial of Destiny opens in theaters on June 30.
Source: Variety, via Business Insider