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Credit: LucasfilmDisney is currently throwing a three-day Indiana Jones film marathon in Los Angeles, bringing the beloved Harrison Ford back onto the big screen after the final installment in the franchise flopped in theaters.
The TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles is showing all five Indiana Jones films from December 5 to the 7th (per Collider), along with exclusive merchandise, photo ops, and a special reception for the final movie, The Dial of Destiny. The event is celebrating the physical release of the latter film, which also began streaming on Disney+ on December 1. Naturally, the movies are being shown in chronological order, beginning with Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), and finishing with The Dial of Destiny.
The Indiana Jones adventure series began as a collaboration between George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, who (legend has it) bumped into each other while individually on vacation in Hawaii. The two filmmakers decided to work on a project together that would “outdo” the popular James Bond series of films and pay homage to the adventure serials of the 1930s and 1940s.
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Famously, George Lucas did not want to cast Harrison Ford as Dr. Henry Jones Jr., as he had already worked with him in American Graffiti (1962) and Star Wars (1977), and Tom Selleck was originally cast as the lead character in Raiders of the Lost Ark. However, Selleck was unable to get out of his contract with the popular TV show Magnum, P.I., and Ford took the role.
Harrison Ford portrayed Indiana Jones in every film installment and briefly reprised the role in the TV series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. The show also starred Sean Patrick Flanery, Corey Carrier, and George Hall as Jones at various ages, while River Phoenix played a teenage version of the character in The Last Crusade.
All of this came to an end with The Dial of Destiny, the first film in the series not to be based on a story by George Lucas and not directed by Steven Spielberg. Instead, James Mangold, who also co-wrote with Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, and David Koepp, took over directing duties.
In part, this could be part of what made The Dial of Destiny a comparatively disappointing end to the franchise, though series mainstays like John Rhys-Davies and Karen Allen, as well as original composer John Williams, were brought in to add a sense of continuity. The film was repeatedly delayed due to shuffling screenwriters and the COVID-19 pandemic, which also didn’t help anything.
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Ultimately, the film grossed an underwhelming $384 million, far below the box office earnings of its immediate predecessor, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It also received lukewarm reviews from critics, currently holding 69% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Harrison Ford has made it very clear that he considers this final film the end of the Indiana Jones series, and he will not allow anyone else to take on the character in a recast or reboot. While that might be disappointing, at least there’s one more chance to see him in theaters, at least if you’re in Los Angeles.
Should Disney reboot Indiana Jones, or is it time to lay the series to rest? Give us your thoughts in the comments below!