Just weeks ahead of star Harrison Ford’s 80th birthday, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny arrives in cinemas. The fifth and final instalment of the franchise, launched by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas in 1981, sees the actor don his hat and pick up his bullwhip one last time for a time-travelling finale. In it, the beloved globe-trotting archaeologist must deal with age, mortality and a future that’s more concerned with the technological promises offered by the 1969 moon landing than it is with Indy’s search for a powerful ancient artefact that some good old-fashioned Nazi baddies are intent on using for nefarious, history-altering purposes.
How did you feel when you were asked to be part of the send-off for Indiana Jones?
PHOEBE WALLER-BRIDGE: I was having dinner with Kathy Kennedy [producer of the films] and it was the day before the UK went into lockdown. She said, “Would you consider being in the next Indiana Jones movie?” I sort of fell off my chair, ordered a bottle of wine and said, “Of course, and I’d love to read the script.” I read the script and couldn’t believe what a ride it was, how brilliant it was and how complex and beautiful. I had lockdown to think about this adventure I was going to have, which was a gift.
As a veteran of the golden age of the Hollywood blockbuster who’s now also beginning to take roles in TV, how do you feel about the future of the theatrical experience?
HARRISON FORD: I don’t know what the future holds, I just work here. I ran into a good vein of writing on television and I wanted a piece of it. I don’t know where I’m going except when I find myself in a community of artists who have an idea and are finding a way of expressing that idea. When a story comes along, then you begin to know whether or not it feels like a good fit for you; it doesn’t matter whether it’s television or it’s film — it’s a chance to express something that you recognise as emotional value or just entertainment.
This film has a lot of entertainment — a lot of what we expect and a bit of the unexpected for an Indiana Jones film — real things to chew on. It's a family film and it’s best seen with family. One of the great things about Indiana Jones movies is that they’re passed on from generation to generation through family. It’s a chance for children to experience something with their parents that they have in common and can talk about.
I'd still encourage people to go to the theatre and see it with strangers in the dark; with a sound system that’s unbelievable; where you can feel your common humanity. That’s what this kind of film does. I love to see people being back in the theatres; feeling something in common. There’s so much of our lives that’s contrived to force us apart, but this kind of thing can bring us back together.
In this final instalment, Indy’s age is at the forefront of the story. How did you feel about this?
PWB: When Kathy Kennedy first told me about the movie, the first thing she said was, “It’s important to Harrison that it's a film about Indiana Jones being the age that he is”. That caught my attention. What a revolutionary way to end a franchise that began in a revolutionary way. Older people are more interesting — they’ve done more and they know more stuff — and watching someone who we’ve enjoyed watching doing extraordinary stuff in his younger years and finding out what happens when he’s confronted with the same sort of challenges later in his life is exciting and suspenseful in a way that so many other movies aren’t.
What’s it been like to watch the film with audiences, to share in the communal experience of saying goodbye to this iconic character?
HF: It's gratifying to know that something we’ve been doing for 42-and-a-half years has real value. We’re coming out in a time in our cultures when rejiggering is going on around us socially — we’re finding a way back out of the wilderness we’ve found ourselves in. We’re hoping to be able to re-establish some kind of order, peace and community in our lives, in our societies, and this is the kind of film that brings us back together. That kind of experience in a culture helps us understand that we’re all human, we’re all part of the same story. Stories are important in our lives, whether they come from the Bible or cave paintings. These are the stories that help us understand who we are and what we can do together. It’s been a major highlight of my career, of my life, to be part of these films.
PWB: I love endings; endings are important — especially today when it’s rare that things end — it brings everything into focus. People come with a bit extra — their hearts are more open when they know they’re going to see something for the last time. Endings feel dangerous because you want everything to feel right. Often you don’t know what the right ending is, but you know what the feeling is. When I read this script, it had the feeling it was the right ending.
- Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is on circuit.
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