In 2023, 15 years after Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull polarized audiences, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was released to give Harrison Ford’s popular character a conclusive ending. However, in addition to being met with more mixed critical reception, the fifth and final Indiana Jones movie bombed at the box office, making only $384 million worldwide. And yet, looking back, exiting Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy doesn’t have any regrets about making The Dial of Destiny.
Kennedy explained her thought process about this while speaking with Deadline following the news of her exiting Lucasfilm after 14 years. After covering topics like her extensive producing career and upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows, including whether next year’s Starfighter could get a sequel, Kennedy had this to say when the interviewer mused that “Harrison Ford stayed a little too long at the dance” with playing Dr. Henry Jones Jr.:
No, no. I have no regrets about that because Harrison wanted to do that more than anything. He did not want Indy to end with the fourth movie. He wanted a chance at another, and we did that for him. I think that was the right thing to do. He wanted to do that movie. I don’t think Indy will ever be done, but I don’t think anybody is interested right now in exploring it. But these are timeless movies, and Indy will never be done.
As I already mentioned, it’s not as though Indiana Jones 5 earned overwhelmingly negative reactions. For example, CinemaBlend’s Dial of Destiny review rated it 4 out of 5 stars, with our own Sarah El-Mahmoud saying the movie “feels most like an ode to the franchise and sweet fanfare” for Indy after The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull disappointed so many fans. And yet, The Dial of Destiny ended up experiencing a similar fate, though if you were one of its detractors, I recommend giving the movie another shot by streaming it with your Disney+ subscription.
Regardless, from Kathleen Kennedys perspective, it was all worth it in order to give Harrison Ford proper closure with this character he’d been playing since 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark. Now that the actor’s time as the fedora-wearing, whip-wielding archaeologist is over, she also believes that the franchise will go on an indefinite hiatus. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s right, especially since the last attempt at having a new actor play a younger version of a beloved Harrison Ford character, i.e. Alden Ehrenreich in Solo: A Star Wars Story, didn’t go well either.
At this point, I think the best bet would be to reboot the Indiana Jones franchise from scratch and leave the original continuity behind. That said, it’s probably for the best the franchise is given another extended break so that a new generation can eventually reinvigorate it. The important takeaway is that The Dial of Destiny closed the book on Harrison Ford’s tenure as Indy, and while its theatrical performance left a lot to be desired, Kathleen Kennedy is glad Lucasfilm poured the resources into making it.
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