Will Indiana Jones 5 Bring Back Karen Allen? Here's What The Actress Says About The Dial Of Destiny

Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
(Image credit: Lucasfilm)

Indiana Jones 5, a.k.a. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, has a stacked cast, with Harrison Ford being joined by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen and Antonio Banderas, to name a few. However, aside from Indy himself, the only other established character who’s been confirmed to appear is John Rhys Davies’ Sallah, who we previously saw in Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade. What about Indy’s wife, Marion Ravenwood? Well, Karen Allen recently commented about if she’ll be involved in The Dial of Destiny.

Following her debut as Marion Ravenwood in 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark, Karen Allen wasn’t seen in the Indiana Jones franchise again until 2008’s Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which also introduced her and Indiana Jones’ son, Shia LaBeouf’s Mutt Williams. Since Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ended with Marion and Indy getting married, it would obviously make sense for her to be present in The Dial of Destiny. However, Showbiz411 asked the actress if we’ll see her in this 2023 movie release, she only said the following “with a twinkle in her eye” and while “all smiles”:

I could tell you but then I’d have to kill you! Seriously, I can’t say a word.

We can’t officially say that Karen Allen will appear in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, but taking into account her facial expression while giving that comment, it seems like the chances of her being in it are stronger than not. Frankly, it would be unusual if she wasn’t present at all given not only their marital status, but the fact that this will be Harrison Ford’s final time playing the adventuring archaeologist. Wouldn’t the man’s wife merit an appearance?

Now to be fair, if Karen Allen does indeed appear in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, it’s unlikely she’ll have a major role since Indy’s main partner in this movie will be Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Helena, his goddaughter. Maybe we only briefly see Marion and Indy together either before the latter’s journey begins or after he’s done with this latest round of craziness. Or, to go a more tragic route, maybe Marion died prior to The Dial of Destiny and we’ll only see her through flashbacks. It’s all speculation for now, but since Allen said back in 2018 that she hoped she’d be part of Indiana Jones 5, I’d like to think something was worked out.

Taking place in 1969 against the backdrop of the Space Race, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny sees our title protagonist coming into conflict with Mads Mikkelsen’s Jürgen Voller, an ex-Nazi who’s been recruited to the United States’ moon landing program and is looking for something that be believes will let him make the world into a better place. The movie will open with a World War II-set action sequence featuring a digitally de-aged Harrison Ford. Other actors appearing in The Dial of Destiny include Shaunette Renée Wilson, Thomas Kretschmann, Toby Jones, Boyd Holbrook, Olivier Ritchers and Ethann Isidore.

Directed by James Mangold, who also co-wrote the script with Jez and John-Henry Butterworth, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny opens in theaters on June 30, 2023. Stream the first four Indiana Jones movies with a Paramount+ subscription.

Adam Holmes
Senior Content Producer

Connoisseur of Marvel, DC, Star Wars, John Wick, MonsterVerse and Doctor Who lore, Adam is a Senior Content Producer at CinemaBlend. He started working for the site back in late 2014 writing exclusively comic book movie and TV-related articles, and along with branching out into other genres, he also made the jump to editing. Along with his writing and editing duties, as well as interviewing creative talent from time to time, he also oversees the assignment of movie-related features. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Journalism, and he’s been sourced numerous times on Wikipedia. He's aware he looks like Harry Potter and Clark Kent.