Harrison Ford recently shared what he'd like to say to Indiana Jones fans following his retirement from the Indy role in upcoming blockbuster Dial of Destiny.
Ford offered some concise yet heartfelt parting words to the Indiana Jones fanbase in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "Thanks for putting up with me," he said, repeating a line uttered by Indy himself in Dial of Destiny. "I hope you've had a good time… I sure have." Ford has portrayed Indiana Jones in all five of the intrepid archaeologist's big screen adventures, starting with 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark. The 80-year-old actor confirmed that Dial of Destiny will mark his last-ever outing as Indy in May 2023.
Ford doubled down on his intention to retire from the Indiana Jones role in a subsequent interview, insisting that it will be his "final" entry in the franchise. He added that he was partly motivated to bid farewell to arguably his most iconic part because continuing on risked rehashing plot and character beats from earlier Indiana Jones movies. "I was not so much interested in doing the same thing over and over again, I wanted to have an emotional ending to this character," Ford explained. "And I'm so grateful for the audience that we've had, I just wanted to make sure that they would be satisfied and happy with the final iteration."
Indiana Jones 5 Star Denies Replacing Harrison Ford
Ford is joined by a new co-star for Indy's cinematic swansong: Fleabag star Phoebe Waller-Bridge. The English actor and screenwriter plays Jones' goddaughter Helena Shaw -- a character some fans suspected was added to Dial of Destiny as a potential replacement for Indy. Waller-Bridge recently dismissed these claims, saying that "there's no replacing Indiana Jones in any way." At the same time, Waller-Bridge acknowledged that Shaw could return in another project at some point in the future.
Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy is equally optimistic about a potential Helena Shaw spinoff, agreeing that a film headlined by Shaw was "entirely possible" in a recent interview. However, if Lucasfilmdoes decide to greenlight a Helena Shaw spinoff, the production company shouldn't expect Dial of Destiny director James Mangold to take part. Mangold recently made it clear he's not interested in helming the hypothetical project, expressing distaste for "the amount of lore and Easter eggs and fan service" spinoffs tend to involve.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny arrives in theaters on June 30, 2023.
Source: EW