Indiana Jones Star John Rhys-Davies Talks Dial of Destiny and Lord of the Rings Tattoos (Exclusive)

Lucasfilm is getting ready to release the upcoming fifth film in the Indiana Jones franchise, and excitement has been ramping up. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny recently screened at the Festival de Cannes, and it received some pretty mixed reactions. From everything we've seen from the trailers, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny looks like it could be a great time at the movies, with some of the iconic cast returning like Harrison Ford and John Rhys-Davies. Rhys-Davies is reprising his role as Sallah 35 years after Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and he looks great in the role. The legendary actor has appeared in numerous franchises, like Indiana Jones and even The Lord of the Rings. While speaking with ComicBook.com's Chris Killian during the Nashville ICCon, Rhys-Davies revealed why he didn't get matching tattoos with his fellow Indian Jones and Lord of the Rings cast members.

"Do I? Hell. You really think I want to have my lovely skin broken by a dirty needle? Good God. No," Rhys-Davies told us "Look, when they dig my body up in 1000 years, they'll find a missing finger. They'll find a broken leg from a plane crash down there. They'll find a damaged hip there. They'll find a brick mark in my skull there. A broken bone in there. A broken thing from a plane crash there. Um, oh, that's a wall that fell on me. That's enough. They don't want any marks on me. No tattoo."

Indiana Jones 5 Director James Mangold talks Disney Sequel

"I wanted the chance to dive into this kind of full-on George-and-Steven old picture and give the audience an adrenaline blast," director James Mangold told Empire. 

It's in that spirit that the movie opens in 1944, and sees Indy squaring off with Nazis during World War II. Then you smash forward to 25  years later, and a more contemporary look for Indy.

"We fall out, and you find yourself in 1969," Mangold explained. "So that the audience doesn't experience the change between the '40s and '60s as an intellectual conceit, but literally experiences the buccaneering spirit of those early days…and then the beginning of now."

"My hope is that, although it will be talked about in terms of technology, you just watch it and go, 'Oh my God, they just found footage. This was a thing they shot 40 years ago'," added Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy. "We're dropping you into an adventure, something Indy is looking for, and instantly you have that feeling, 'I'm in an Indiana Jones movie.'" 

The film is being helmed by James Mangold with Harrison Ford returning. Franchise newcomers will include Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Solo: A Star Wars Story), Mads Mikkelsen (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), Boyd Holbrook (Logan), Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong), Shaunette Renée Wilson (The Resident), and Antonio Banderas (Pain and Glory). While fans haven't gotten to see much from the movie yet, there have been some exciting set photos of the cast. 

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is expected to hit theaters on June 30, 2023.

What do you think about John Rhys-Davies' tattoos? Are you excited for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny? Let us know in the comments below or by hitting up our writer @NateBrail on Twitter!