'Indiana Jones 5' Star Defends Controversial Ending Amid Box Office Flop - Inside the Magic

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023).

To many, Harrison Ford’s fifth and final rendezvous as the titular adventurer in Lucasfilm’s Indiana Jones franchise wasn’t exactly the fitting goodbye they’d expected it to be.

Whether it be the film’s characterization of an older, more world-weary Indy, the emphasis on Phoebe Waller Bridge’s Fiona Shaw, or its zany time-traveling shenanigans, audiences had many pointed criticisms of Dial of Destiny. But perhaps most universally agreed of all is that ultimately, the movie failed to land its ending—something one of its stars is now defending.

Related: ‘Indiana Jones’ Director Explains Decision Opponents Call “Turning Franchise Woke”

Director James Mangold’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) wasn’t met with “fortune and glory” when it arrived in theaters on June 30, 2023. On top of lackluster reviews from critics and fans, the fifth installment in the beloved action-adventure franchise might go down as one of the biggest box office bombs in Disney/Lucasfilm history, barely managing to break even on its reported $300+ million budget.

But numbers aside, audiences had a common complaint with Dial of Destiny regarding its controversial ending, which spurred plenty of online discourse in the weeks following its premiere. As those who have seen the latest Disney blockbuster know, the story follows Indy as he quests after Archimedes’ Antikythera device, with the climax taking him back in time to 212 BCE to the Siege of Syracuse before the archeologist gets his happy ending back in the present day with Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen).

Related: Disney Almost Went Too Far, ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Fixed “Problematic” Scene

The frankly wild decision to take Indy and co. back to the days of the Roman Empire was a bold choice on Mangold’s end, dividing audiences who either supported his whacky time-traveling antics or felt the director’s big swing simply didn’t pay off. Amid online discourse, one of the movie’s stars, Boyd Holbrook, is chiming in, defending the Dial of Destiny ending in a recent interview.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Holbrook, who plays villainous neo-Nazi Klaber in the new film, came to the climax’s defense, calling Mangold’s ending a “bold, earned choice.” He went on to praise the filmmakers’ “cleverly speckled in” time-traveling plot, deeming it a “really touching moment” that even caused him to become “a little emotional:”

I thought it was a bold, earned choice. It’s so cleverly speckled in throughout the film. Those seeds are planted, and it’s preparing you for it, subliminally. You don’t really know it until it’s happening and it’s so elegantly done that it’s not farcical whatsoever. It bottlenecks to a really touching moment where you feel that Indiana has earned this moment and wants to stay. When I saw it, I was surprised that it grabbed me by the throat. I was a little emotional even though I’m so close to it.

Needless to say, Dial of Destiny‘s time-traveling subplot might’ve been a little too zany for those hoping for a more grounded adventure starring a beloved pop culture icon. Plus, it’s safe to agree that traveling back to 212 BCE is a fairly significant departure from what the franchise is known for; gun-slinging showdowns, daring escape scenes, wise-cracking quips, and generally by-the-books storylines.

But then again, the Indiana Jones series has always had its fantastical moments, and the latest installment is certainly no exception. For one, in Raiders of the Lost Ark, the eponymous arc can literally unleash the power of God, which seems pretty outlandish compared to other family action-adventure franchises.

Mangold himself also defended using this mystical time travel device in the film’s climax, saying, “the relic always defines the third act” of every movie in the Indiana Jones franchise, “and the power of the relic always defines the magic of the movie.”

On a symbolic level, the decision to travel back in time is also a deeply personal moment for Indy, who feels himself like he’s stuck reliving his past amid his university retirement, marital issues, and grief over the loss of his son, Mutt. But instead of being lost in history books like he wanted, fully prepared to give up on his present-day life, Helena drags him back to the 1960s (albeit against his will), forcing Indy to confront his problems head-on and make amends with the people who mean most to him.

Ultimately, it’s up to viewers to decide whether or not this was a fitting goodbye to this iconic character. But either way, the controversial ending will seemingly always have a fan in Boyd Holbrook.

Did you enjoy the ending of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, or was it a little too unbelievable for your tastes? Let us know in the comments below.