Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Director Teases the Alternate Ending He Considered

From face meltings to suspension bridges to Holy Grails to alien encounters, the Indiana Jones franchise has a history of delivering audiences shocking and supernatural finales, with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny honoring that trend. As the title of the movie implies, and as was teased in promotional materials, the Dial of Destiny would seemingly offer anyone who wields it the chance to travel through time, which sets the stage for a thrilling sendoff for Harrison Ford’s iconic explorer. Director James Mangold recently confirmed that, before settling on the ending in the finished film, he toyed with exploring an alternate ending for the hero. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is in theaters now.

WARNING: Spoilers below for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Throughout Dial of Destiny, Mads Mikkelsen’s Jürgen Voller wants to obtain the object to be able to travel back in time to 1939 to kill Hitler and take his seat of power before World War II. Due to some miscalculations, Voller and Indy instead go back to 200 B.C., with our hero meeting Archimedes himself while he is in the process of creating the dial. 

Mangold pointed out that he had nearly considered telling a story in which the film did go back to revisit 1939, but with how much time was spent talking about Archimedes, he felt it was more appropriate to show audiences this point in time.

“I would never make this choice without ruminating over lots of choices,” Mangold confirmed to Insider. “The other interesting thing was that one of the things I thought about was even if we did travel in time, would Mads’ theory be right and they’d land in Nazi Germany? And the last act of the movie would be Indy trying to foil Mads’ plan? But the more I sketched that out in my mind, the more that became kind of just a spy movie at the end. I couldn’t find a way to emotional resonance.”

He continued, “It occurred to me that we’ve been talking about three different time periods a lot in the movie: 1968, 1944, and 200 BC … So why don’t we go there? Because that’s the only one I’ve been hearing a lot about but I haven’t seen.”

When Indiana does meet Archimedes, he even attempts to stay in these ancient times instead of returning home, though Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Helena Shaw knocks him out and brings him back home. Mangold pointed out that, by traveling to 200 B.C., it offered the character something he’d never experienced.

“The idea immediately moved me,” the director admitted. “Indy’s character would suddenly be faced with something he’s only imagined all his life. The reality of something he’s been only looking at through the keyhole of history and artifacts and is suddenly in it. And what a powerful moment that might be for Harrison himself to play.”

The iconic Harrison Ford returns for one last adventure when Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny premiered in theaters on June 30th. Lucasfilm’s latest film in the long-running franchise sees Dr. Jones team up with his goddaughter Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) in a race against nefarious forces to secure a powerful artifact. The duo will go up against the mysterious former Nazi-turned-NASA scientist Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), and the film also features stars Boyd Holbrook, Antonio Banderas, Toby Jones, and John Rhys Davies. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is directed by James Mangold and is set to be Ford’s final appearance as the iconic archeologist.

What do you think of that alternate ending? Let us know in the comments!