Credit: LucasfilmIndiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny bombed in theaters earlier this year, with both audiences and critics disappointed by the final installment of the legendary adventure series focusing on depression, nostalgia, and a little bit too much de-aging technology. However, concept art from an ILM creator gives us a different potential angle for the last Indiana Jones adventure: zombies.
ILM concept artist Saby Menyhei posted an image of Harrison Ford as Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones Jr. to social media, depicting the famed archaeologist fighting some kind of zombified ancient warriors alongside a now-grown Short Round (recent Academy Award winner Ke Huy Quan). The caption reads: “Indy and Short Round in action. It would have been so cool to see @kehuyquan again in the role one more time!”
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Check it out:
Indy and Short Round in action. It would have been so cool to see @kehuyquan again in the role one more time!#indianajones #shortround #digitalart #painting #art #illustration #picoftheday #ınstagood #scary #halloween #conceptart #drawing #painting pic.twitter.com/ei7UFNKWaH
— saby menyhei (@menyhei) October 31, 2023
When contacted by Inside the Magic, Saby Menyhei confirmed that the concept art had been created as a personal project and was not commissioned as part of the development of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Menyhei added, “I’m [a] huge Indiana Jones fan since I was a kid – it’s always fun to paint Indy on adventures we haven’t seen in the movies.”
Saby Menyhei’s credit work includes The Last of Us, Ant-Man (2015), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), and Tenet (2020).
Before Dial of Destiny was released in theaters, it was rumored that Ke Huy Quan would return as Short Round, the character he portrayed in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984). While Harrison Ford and Quan notably reunited at this year’s Oscars ceremony (where Quan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor) and at the Los Angeles premiere of Dial of Destiny, he ultimately did not appear in the final film.
Related: Disney Brings ‘Indiana Jones’ Back to the Big Screen After ‘Dial of Destiny’ Flops
The Dial of Destiny did bring back fan-favorite characters Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) and Sallah (John Rhys-Davies), as well as original composer John Williams, but largely failed to connect with its fanbase. In part, this may have been due to the absence of franchise creators George Lucas and Steven Spielberg (who passed the directorial reins to James Mangold), despite adding new characters played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, Boyd Holbrook, and Antonio Banderas.
Harrison Ford has been firm that Dial of Destiny is the conclusion of the series, despite Disney’s rumored plans to reboot the character with a young actor like Chris Pratt or Dwayne Johnson. While we recently got an in-depth documentary, and there are dozens of TV adventures in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles on Disney+, this seems to be it for the franchise. At least we can imagine Dr. Jones and Short Round facing off against the undead.
Should Disney bring back Indiana Jones, or does Harrison Ford have the right idea? Let us know in the comments below!