More than 40 years after first playing Indiana Jones, it’s not snakes that Harrison Ford is worried about but rather how the beloved archaeologist will go out. But, as quickly as he disposed of the swordsman in Cairo, Ford is ensuring fans that his last outing as Indy will be worth the wait.
Speaking with Total Film, Harrison Ford said that Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny will be a fitting sendoff for the character…at least as he portrays him. “I’ve been able to deliver amazing films developed by Steven [Spielberg] and George [Lucas] over a 40-year period, and to end it not with a whimper, but a bang, has been my greatest ambition for this excursion.” He added, “This is the final film in the series, and this is the last time I’ll play the character. I anticipate that it will be the last time that he appears in a film.” So, no, Harrison Ford will have nothing to do with the Indiana Jones TV series, “if it does come to fruition.”
Now 80, plenty of age-related jokes have been made at the expense of Harrison Ford still playing Indiana Jones. Ford previously spoke of this, saying, “The mistake you can make in movies is when someone is of a ripe age, but the movie continues this charade that they’re not that old. Every challenge he faces is through the reality of what someone of that age would be dealing with.” Ford even said his being the only* actor to play Jones was the real secret of the character’s longevity, saying, “It’s the same actor playing him…This is not your fifth Bond. This is your first and original Indiana Jones.” (*Jones has, of course, been played by numerous actors, although not in the manner Ford speaks of River Phoenix in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, in addition to various people in The Young Indiana Jones series.)
With this in mind, fans of the Indiana Jones franchise will certainly smirk at the sight of Harrison Ford playing the character at a much younger age, achieved through evidently remarkable de-aging technology. The sequence takes up the first 25 minutes of Dial of Destiny.
How do you think Harrison Ford will do reprising Indiana Jones for the fifth time and for the first time in 15 years? Let us know below!