For over 40 years, Indiana Jones has taken audiences on wild rides, searching for artifacts with a power that could destroy the world. From Nazis, to Russians, and to cultists, Indiana Jones has been on many adventures over the years. In 1979, George Lucas and Steven Speilberg began work on the first Indiana Jones film titled Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Legendary director Steven Speilberg helmed the directing duties of the film, with George Lucas writing the story and serving as a producer, along with Kathleen Kennedy. The film was released to critical acclaim and was the highest grossing film of 1981, earning $212 million at the domestic box office (about $850 million inflation adjusted). Lucas and Speilberg continued to work on the Indiana Jones trilogy with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984). Five years later, Lucas and Speilberg rounded out the trilogy with Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (1989), which was released to critical acclaim and considered to be an improvement over its predecessor.
Last Crusade was initially the end of the series, but In the early 2000s, Speilburg reunited with Lucas to begin development on another Indiana Jones movie. Finally, in 2008, Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull was released with Harrison Ford once again reprising his role as Indiana Jones. The film was met with mixed reception, critics praising John Williams’ musical score and casting, but criticized for its overuse of CGI. Despite this, the movie was a box office hit, grossing $790 million worldwide.
Nothing really moved forward with a fifth film until Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012. The film was originally scheduled to release on July 19th, 2019 before having its release date adjusted multiple times for various reasons. Finally the film’s script was completed in mid 2020. Filming began in mid 2021 and wrapped in February 2022.
Each Indiana Jones film has what is called a ¨macguffin,” or magical object. The upcoming films macguffin is the mysterious ¨Dial of Destiny¨. So far the film’s marketing campaign (including trailers) has revealed little information about this mysterious object to be featured in the film.
The new adventure will once again see Harrison Ford reprise his role as Indiana Jones; this will be Ford´s last time appearing as Indiana Jones. Shia LaBeouf, who starred as his son in the previous installment, will not be returning, but audiences will learn what has become of him. John Rhys-Davies who portrayed Indy’s friend and ally Sallah in Raiders of The Lost Ark (1981) and The Last Crusade (1989) will be returning to star in the film. Karen Allen, who portrayed Indys love Interest, Marion Ravenwood in Raiders of The Lost Ark (1981) and Kingdom of The Crystal Skull (2008), expressed interest in reprising her role. Her role is most likely being kept secret behind closed doors. Mads Mikkelson (Casino Royale, Rogue One) stars as the film’s villain. Other newcomers include Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Toby Jones.
The film’s marketing campaign has consisted of 2 trailers, a de-aged Harrison Ford, a highly sought after Super Bowl TV spot, and the revival of the lego Indiana Jones theme, which will include several new lego sets based on the five films.
The next question to ask is will it be good, and will audiences show up for another indy adventure? The film’s bloated $300 million price tag, plus an estimated $100 million-plus marketing campaign will mean the film will probably have to gross around $800 million just to break even financially. Considering Kingdom of the Crystal Skull brought in $790 million in 2008, it is highly possible for The Dial of Destiny to reach this number.
But in order to do so Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny will need to avoid the CGI issue of its predecessor and return to what the original films mastered: the art of practical effects. Today, it has been proven that practical effects movies tend to have a better reception. Another major factor is that Steven Speilberg stepped down as director in 2019, being replaced by James Mangold. The Dial of Destiny is also the first Indiana Jones film not to have a story written by George Lucas. Whether or not these two things will help or harm the film remains a mystery.
The film will primarily take place in 1969 in the midst of the space race. Indiana Jones has become uneasy about the U.S government recruiting former Nazis to help beat the Soviet Union. Meanwhile Voller, an ex-nazi who has become a Nasa employee involved with the Apollo program (moon landing), attempts to make the world a better place as he sees fit. This is a film meant to be experienced in theaters, so join Indiana Jones for one last adventure.
