Indiana Jones is one of the most beloved and iconic action-adventure franchises of the last 50 years. The Harrison Ford-led series presents just about everything you could want out of an adventure movie. It’s a charismatic lead character fighting the good fight against Nazis and other powerful forces, with a good dosage of treasure hunting and supernatural elements mixed in there too. It’s simple, yet effective. The first three films were some of the most talked about and financially successful films of the 1980s, and in the years since there have been numerous attempts to keep the franchise alive. The fifth feature film in the series, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, just dropped its first trailer recently, reintroducing audiences to the world of Jones and his daring escapades.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
Ford confirmed at D23 this year that the newest Indiana Jones film will be his last outing as the character. Yet, there has still been a lot of discussion about the future of the series, both in films and on television and streaming. That raises the question: can the Indiana Jones franchise continue without its iconic star in the lead role? Even further, should it? Should the Indiana Jones franchise have just stayed a trilogy? If Dial of Destiny really is Ford’s last appearance in the role of Indiana Jones, the viability of the franchise’s future is put in doubt. Yet, Disney seems determined to make Indiana Jones into one of their landmark ongoing series.
History of the Series
Paramount Pictures
The Indiana Jones series is one of many crown jewels in the filmography of director Steven Spielberg. The first film in the series, Raiders of the Lost Ark, was released in 1981 and is often considered among the best action films ever produced. With a story from the legendary Star Wars creator George Lucas and a screenplay from Lawrence Kasdan, Raiders was a prime example of a new Hollywood generation’s talents. It thoroughly earned its esteemed reputation. The film received a slew of nominations at that year’s Oscars as well, including Best Picture and Best Director. It ultimately walked away with five wins. Soon after, work began on the follow-up sequel (which is actually a prequel), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
Temple of Doom was released in 1984, and, while it wasn’t as instantly loved as its predecessor, the film was still a smash hit. On top of that, the addition of the PG-13 rating to the MPAA film rating system in the United States was a direct result of the violence that occurred in the PG-rated Indy sequel. Temple of Doom was another action icon of the ’80s, and fan appreciation for the film has warmed over the decades. It would then be another five years before the Indiana Jones trilogy was rounded out in 1989 with Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in 1989. The third film in the series was much better received than Temple of Doom, and the addition of Sean Connery as Jones’s father lifted the film to immense new heights.
After the great success of the Indiana Jones trilogy in the 1980s, there were several attempts in the ‘90s to keep the series alive, even if Ford wasn’t involved. The most notable of these efforts was the television series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, which explored the adventures of the lead character in his youth prior to Raiders of the Lost Ark. That series was not very well-liked, to say the least. The series only lasted for two seasons and was eventually converted into a collection of TV movies instead of a proper television show. Even then, it failed to garner much attention or acclaim, and the array of Young Indy adventures failed to make it out of the ‘90s.
21st Century Revival
Talks about a fourth Indiana Jones movie began around the same time that the Young Indiana Jones TV series was being produced. Lucas was interested in exploring the character through a sci-fi story set in the 1950s, but at the time Ford and Spielberg wanted to move on to other projects. It wasn’t until the early-to-mid 2000s that the team came back together to produce the fourth installment in the series, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The film was released in 2008, nearly 20 years after The Last Crusade. To say that Crystal Skull is the worst Indiana Jones film would be an understatement. It completely failed to recapture the spirit of the franchise, and the overuse of digital effects made the fourth film feel significantly more cartoony than the previous entries had been. Audiences were immensely disappointed with the film, and many people wrote it off immediately and still pretend like it never happened.
After the fourth film, audience interest in a new Indiana Jones film was at an all-time low. That didn’t stop the development of a fifth film pretty immediately, though. Spielberg, Lucas, and Ford were all interested in returning for another Indiana Jones adventure sooner rather than later. It would take a little while to pull the project together, though, and then it was set back even further as a result of Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm in 2012. Development continued from there, with Spielberg eventually stepping back into a producing role to let Logan and Ford v Ferrari filmmaker James Mangold take over the directing duties. The fifth film in the series, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, is set for release next year and will feature Ford as the character in both the 1960s and digitally de-aged back to the Raiders era.
Beyond Dial of Destiny, there has also been discussion at Lucasfilm and Disney about continuing to produce Indiana Jones films after the fifth entry. Few details are known about how this would work, but the mantle of series lead would likely be passed to a new character, perhaps Jones’ goddaughter Helena, played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge in the new film. Disney is also in development on a Disney+ series set within the Indiana Jones universe. While there has been no official announcement about whom this series would focus on or when it would take place, The Ankler’s Jeff Sneider reports that the show will be centered around Jones’s mentor figure Abner Ravenwood, who was only ever mentioned in the earlier films but never actually seen on-screen.
Let It Lie
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
As fun and popular as the Indiana Jones series is, it’s okay to let things come to an end sometimes. If there’s one thing that has been taught by the Young Indiana Jones show and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, it’s that the Indiana Jones movies probably should’ve just been left alone as a trilogy. There’s no need to continue expanding the series and nor is there a desire from audiences to see it become the next big franchise. Indiana Jones had its day, and now it is best left to the reputation of its past. The first three Indiana Jones movies have achieved a legendary status that is hard to replicate, and everything that has been released since those three films has failed to add anything of quality to the franchise. The legacy of Indiana Jones is just being tarnished at this point, and the personality of the series is being watered down with each new entry.
Now, maybe Dial of Destiny will be great. Mangold is an excellent filmmaker, and his involvement in the new film is reason enough to give it a shot at least. However, it’s just hard to get excited about a new Indiana Jones movie these days. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull left an enormously bad taste in viewers’ mouths, and Ford just isn’t the action star that he used to be. He’s still an incredible actor with plenty of talent left in him, as evidenced by his performance in Blade Runner 2049 and how good he looks in the new Yellowstone prequel 1923. Having him return to the role of Indiana Jones, however, just feels like retreading old ground unnecessarily. It’s easy to see why Dial of Destiny got made though; Indiana Jones is a major brand that Disney now owns, and if Disney is known for doing anything in the 21st century, it’s their refusal to leave any recognizable franchise alone.
If you’re optimistic about Dial of Destiny and the new Indiana Jones Disney+ series, more power to you. Unfortunately, even with Mangold on board, this new era of the franchise just feels like a blatant cash grab. Indiana Jones isn’t Star Wars, nor is it Marvel. The series was just a great collection of adventure movies that is now being squeezed for every ounce of material that can be juiced out of it. It’s kind of sad to watch. Fingers are crossed that Dial of Destiny turns out great and that it manages to revive the series in a way that feels natural. Fans of Indiana Jones have just been burned too much over the years to be hopeful for the series at this point. So, should Indiana Jones continue after its fifth film? Probably not. Will it? Most likely.
