Harrison Ford Reveals Why He Returned for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Confirms His Franchise Future

By Patrick Cavanaugh

Back in 2008, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull gave the titular character what some audiences would consider a sendoff, but according to Harrison Ford himself, he returned for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny because he was particularly interested in exploring the character at the end of his career. Despite the implication of that fourth film's ending, Ford hadn't necessarily considered that he was riding off into the sunset with that adventure, even if he ended up rekindling his romance with Marion Ravenwood, with Dial of Destiny finally closing the book on the character's outings. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is expected to hit theaters on June 30th.

"I always wanted to do it," Ford shared with Variety of what drew him to the sequel. "I wanted to do the rest of the story to see the end of his career."

This new film, though, will finally bring Indiana's journey to a close, with Ford expressing, "It's the last time for me."

The longevity of the character makes it hard to imagine that this will really be the end of the character's adventures, but with Ford hanging up his hat, audiences will be left to wonder what the future could hold for the series. Some reports claim that a TV series is being developed for Disney+, sparking speculation about what such a series could focus on. 

One thing that assuredly won't be happening is seeing a new actor take over for Harrison Ford as the archaeologist, as confirmed by Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy.

"There should be moments along the way when you learn things. [Solo: A Star Wars Story] may have certainly been a learning moment," Kennedy shared with Vanity Fair in 2022. "Some people have talked about how, well, maybe Solo should have been a TV show. But even doing Solo as a TV show without Harrison Ford as Han Solo ... It's the same thinking. Maybe I should have recognized this before. We would never make Indiana Jones without Harrison Ford. Having just finished the fifth movie, I can tell you, there wasn't a day I wasn't on set where I wasn't like, 'Yes -- this is Indiana Jones.'"

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Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is expected to hit theaters on June 30th.

Are you excited to see Ford return as the hero? Let us know in the comments!  

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