James Mangold Explains Why The Negative Response To INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY "Hurt"

Logan director James Mangold has reflected on making Indy's final adventure with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, admitting that the negative response from many fans "hurt." Read on for details...

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By JoshWilding - Dec 10, 2024 09:12 AM EST

Filed Under: Indiana Jones

Source: ActioNewz.com

When Logan helmer James Mangold was announced as Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny's director, excitement for the long-awaited sequel increased significantly.

However, even with 70% on Rotten Tomatoes, it still somehow ended up being one of 2023's biggest box office flops after earning a mere $384 million worldwide. With a whopping $295 million budget, it's thought the movie lost Disney and Lucasfilm upwards of $130 million.

Whether Kingdom of the Crystal Skull soured people on the idea of an older Indy or interest in the franchise has simply waned over the years is hard to say. Either way, Harrison Ford's time as the iconic adventurer is officially over after he bid farewell to the iconic adventurer.

Talking to Deadline (via ActioNewz.com), Mangold admitted that the response to the movie - social media painted it as an insult to the iconic series - "hurt" him.

"You have a wonderful, brilliant actor who’s in his eighties," he started. "So I’m making a movie about this guy in his eighties, but his audience on one other level doesn’t want to confront their hero at that age. And I am like, I’m good with it. We made the movie."

"But the question is, how would anything have made the audience happy with that, other than having to start over again with a new guy?"

Reflecting on Ford, Steven Spielberg, and Kathleen Kennedy approaching him with the idea of helming the next Indiana Jones movie, Mangold said, "And then here come lifelong heroes from my childhood into my life going, 'We have something for you to work on."

He'd add that was it a "joyous experience, but it hurt in the sense that I really love Harrison and I wanted audiences to love him as he was and to accept that that’s part of what the movie has to say - that things come to an end, that’s part of life."

Despite delivering one of the biggest flops in recent memory, Mangold remains attached to Dawn of the Jedi, a new Star Wars movie which will take us back in time to tell the story of the Galaxy's first Jedi.

He's writing that with House of Cards and Andor writer Beau Willimon. Confirming they've been working on it, the filmmaker added, "I don’t know what’s next because we haven’t gotten to the end of that process. We’re trying to finish a draft."

Despite what's proven to be a somewhat disappointing end to the Indiana Jones franchise in theaters, a new video game - Indiana Jones and the Great Circle - has been receiving rave reviews. In that, Troy Baker takes over the role from Ford.

Were you disappointed with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.

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54 Comments

1 2

FrankenDad - 12/10/2024, 9:09 AM

Got about an hour into the game yesterday before the kids kicked me off to play something else, but I had a blast with what I played so far.

ItsNotForMeWahh - 12/10/2024, 9:11 AM

@FrankenDad - I have been hearing great things. It's on game pass so I'll check it out this weekend!

bkmeijer1 - 12/10/2024, 9:21 AM

@FrankenDad - agreed. It's a game that really nails that Indy-feel from the first three movies.

It also makes me realize that Dial of Destiny did so too, even if it's hero was different. The game and Mangold nail the situations Indy finds himself in.

Typhoon20 - 12/10/2024, 9:42 AM

@bkmeijer1 - The game did something I never could have thought possible. It made you feel like you're actually playing Indiana during his peak with the first 2 movies. And that voice actor sounds exactly like a young Indiana/Harrison Ford it's uncanny valley territory.

FrankenDad - 12/10/2024, 9:47 AM

@ItsNotForMeWahh - GamePass for the win on this! So nice having access through there.

bkmeijer1 - 12/10/2024, 11:13 AM

@Typhoon20 - the first person perspective does work really well. Hitting fascists with shovels and throwing bricks at them as Indy is the entertainment I didn't knew I needed. And Troy Baker does indeed do a phenomenal job

TheManWithoutFear - 12/10/2024, 9:13 AM

Didn't see it, never will. There are only 3 Indiana Jones films and they are all [frick]ing great.

ItsNotForMeWahh - 12/10/2024, 9:17 AM

@TheManWithoutFear -

Fogs - 12/10/2024, 9:29 AM

@TheManWithoutFear - Yeah, also didn't care about it. Was fooled once with Crystal Skull. Not anymore.

DrDReturns - 12/10/2024, 12:03 PM

@TheManWithoutFear - Thanks for saying it for me.

Real truth!

dragon316 - 12/10/2024, 9:24 AM

If it wasn’t for aliens I will like skull this time travel didn’t like to much mostly ending everything was good up to time travel part then it lost Indiana jones magic with time travel

GiverOfInfo - 12/10/2024, 9:24 AM

It sucked and [frick] him for making it.

Typhoon20 - 12/10/2024, 9:36 AM

It's funny how the game *Indiana Jones and the great circle* had a much better story than most of the IJ movies besides the first 2 lol. I guess when you really love and respect the source material it isn't that hard.

Some movies shouldn't be touched again because the actor is the character. Some movies like IJ, BTTF should NEVER EVER BE TOUCHED AGAIN.

jd2841 - 12/10/2024, 9:41 AM

It had zero to do with the age of the protagonist and everything to do with Waller Bridge. Go woke. Go broke. Boo hoo... File it with Disney's other woke garbage. All losses.

Why do they keep trying to force woke stuff upon their primary audience is beyond me. American males want protagonists that provide an escape. Women want male protagonists they are attracted to. Simple biology sells more tickets.

Keep catering to the < 2% and this is what you get Mangold.

SATW42 - 12/10/2024, 10:48 AM

@jd2841 - did you see the movie? Because at no point did Waller outshine Harrison Ford, become the lead, have a forced girl power moment or any of the other things you people consider woke.

She was basically Marion but his god daughter instead of his love interest.

You remember Marion right? The bad ass independent woman who was outdrinking men and was far from a damsel in distress in the first Indy yall are saying you loved?

I swear the mere existence of women bothering you people is [frick]ing out of control

Shivermetimbers - 12/10/2024, 12:12 PM

@SATW42 - You are totally right, but to his point, the narrative around the movie prior to release was that Waller was going to be the lead and take over as the new Indy after the movie ended. That clearly didn't end up being true if you watched the movie, but that kept a lot of people from seeing it in the first place. I actually really like Dial of Destiny and thought it was a shame it didn't do better. The time travel at the end was the only part I was not fully on board with.

jd2841 - 12/10/2024, 12:55 PM

@SATW42 - Sorry dude. Shivermetimbers response on my point is spot on. It was marketed to attract one side and the actual story didn't reflect the marketing effort. That being said... I have nothing against a Star Wars game with a female protagonist as long as she is a female, i.e., not ScarJo's Black Widow lie. Indiana's Marion was a shot guzzling bar owner but she wasn't adept at physical combat. Distinct difference compared to Marion. You could poll 100 women of all ages and they would all pick Marion over Waller-Bridge. Why? She retained a part of her femininity AND she landed a doctor at the end of the movie. Simple biology will win every time.

elcapitan - 12/10/2024, 7:17 PM

@jd2841 - oh look, the incels have come out to play again!

Clintthahamster - 12/10/2024, 9:49 AM

NodrickStripson - 12/10/2024, 10:04 AM

Indiana Jones.
A great trilogy.

HulkisHoly - 12/10/2024, 10:05 AM

If audiences don’t want an 80yr old Indy, then maybe, just maybe, don’t make an Indy 5 with an 80yr old 🤷‍♂️

EarlChai - 12/10/2024, 10:36 AM

@HulkisHoly - This. There was zero demand outside of Disney’s contractual obligation after promising Ford another Indiana Jones film as part of the deal to get him to return for Star Wars.

And if the director had genuinely wanted to tell a story about an 80-something archeologist action hero dealing with age, they could have done like Birdman and cast Ford as an obvious stand-in character without annoying the fans of the original.

CoHost - 12/10/2024, 10:10 AM

?si=R2hb9WOhB4-hG6G0

SATW42 - 12/10/2024, 10:53 AM

@CoHost - that doesn't apply here. There was no gender swap, Harrison Ford was still the star, and Helena Shaw wasn't gay.

TheVisionary25 - 12/10/2024, 10:17 AM

I liked the movie overall honestly , 3rd best in the series imo.

It’s themes of aging, regret and ultimately living in the present connected with me and the cast was great.

It is missing that Spielberg energy , especially in the action scenes for the most part but I thought Mangold’s direction worked in this more subdued and sober story imo.

I personally also liked Helena and the contrast she brought to Indy ( she very clearly to me was meant to parallel how Indy used to be , especially in Temple of Doom and was essentially a mirror to him as a younger version of himself)

Anyway , it was a good sendoff imo to one of cinemas’s most iconic heroes…

TheVisionary25 - 12/10/2024, 10:18 AM

Indiana Jones film rankings (favorite to least)…

1.Raiders of The Lost Ark
2.The Last Crusade
3.Dial of Destiny
4.Temple of Doom
5.Kingdom of The Crystal Skull

The first 2 tend to be interchangeable for me tbh.

InfraMan - 12/10/2024, 10:54 AM

@TheVisionary25 - 100% agree with this ranking!

SATW42 - 12/10/2024, 10:55 AM

@TheVisionary25 -

Nostalgia goggles:

1.Last Crusade
2.Raiders
3.Temple of Doom
4.Dial
5.Kingdom of The Crystal Skull

Actual Movie quality, your list

TheVisionary25 - 12/10/2024, 11:00 AM

@SATW42 - haha fair enough

Temple of Doom has its merits & moments but just taste wise , it being as gross and dark as it is always kinda turned me off it.

BigMax89 - 12/10/2024, 12:38 PM

@TheVisionary25 - I can respect your listing, but for MY two cents, here's where I personally would rank the movies on my liking:

1. Last Crusade — It's not only my personal favorite, but it also ups the ante very well and is proof, if done well, a third installment in a trilogy CAN work. Plus, having Sean Connery in the movie, as he inspired the franchise in some ways, didn't hurt either.
2. Raiders of the Lost Ark — What can you say about the original that started it all? It's that great and memorable for all the right reasons. Plus, it created many of the elements that would be reoccurring through out the series.
3. Temple of Doom — A guilty pleasure to me, but I still love the movie when all said and done. Plus, it is thanks to this that we now have the PG-13 rating as thing for movies since its release.
4. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull — I don't have much to say, except at least this film tried it's hardest to entertain me, even if the reveal of aliens (or "interdimensional beings" as the film calls them) and the nuking of the fridge scene felt extremely forced. Plus, I like it just a pinch better than 'Dial of Destiny'.
5. Dial of Destiny — Saw it only once in theaters and never again since. With no shred of remorse whatsoever, and without a doubt; I… FLIPPING… hated it! I hated it just as much as I hate the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy!

TheVisionary25 - 12/10/2024, 12:41 PM

@BigMax89 - fair enough

BigMax89 - 12/10/2024, 4:09 PM

@TheVisionary25 - Glad to see we can agree to disagree by respecting one another's opinion without resorting to hate messages and violence. :)

Timerider - 12/10/2024, 10:22 AM

I want Harrison Ford to film all the old Indy scenes from Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.

Matchesz - 12/10/2024, 10:33 AM

I thought it was alright, I liked Antonio Benderas’ cameo but the chick was annoying, typical know it all british mary poppins wannabe

Patient2670 - 12/10/2024, 2:36 PM

@Matchesz - Banderas is always fun to watch, but I think that role should have been a callback to an existing character. Would have made the impact of what happens deeper. Could have been a heartbreaking place to put Short Round - which would have pissed people off , or even a cool place for Cptain Katanga from Raiders.

Matchesz - 12/11/2024, 11:54 AM

@Patient2670 - i thought about that but i wouldnt want to see short round get blasted. He should have still been in it since I would have taken him over Ray Palpatine for one last roceo. But I liked Banderes because it implied he went on more adventures and added to his lore

Patient2670 - 12/11/2024, 3:24 PM

@Matchesz - Agreed. Like I said, It would have been heartbreaking to see Short Round end up that way. But I would have liked to see him come back in some form.

TheVisionary25 - 12/10/2024, 10:59 AM

@SATW42 - haha fair enough

Temple of Doom has its moments but idk , just how gross & dark it is always turned me off.

S8R8M - 12/10/2024, 11:18 AM

I enjoyed it.

Shasvre - 12/10/2024, 11:18 AM

For me, Indy's age wasn't a problem. Tearing up the happy ending of Crystal Skull and having Indy be bitter, divorced and with a dead son really soured the movie for me. Too many movies bring back heroes only to show them as bitter failures. We didn't need to add Indy to that list.

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James Mangold Explains Why The Negative Response To INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY "Hurt"

Logan director James Mangold has reflected on making Indy's final adventure with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, admitting that the negative response from many fans "hurt." Read on for details...

INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY Resulted In A Huge Financial Loss For Disney

INDIANA JONES AND THE GREAT CIRCLE Xbox FPS Unveils Action-Packed Gameplay Trailer

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.