James Mangold, the director of Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny, explains why de-aging Harrison Ford in the opening sequence of the upcoming film is necessary to tell the story in a way that connects with audiences. It is not enough to be told who Indiana Jones was; it must be shown to contrast a reluctant hero in his twilight years, who is called upon for one last adventure.Ford is among the oldest actors to lead a big-budget Hollywood action film at 80, but he plays a slightly younger version of his character at 70. As far as Mangold is concerned, the director and Ford have been friends for several years after working together on The Call of the Wild. Mangold directed Hugh Jackman's Logan, which deals with similar themes that Indiana Jones will dive into, such as heroes being called back into action past their prime in a period they no longer recognize. However, to drive this theme home, audiences need to see Indiana Jones in his glory days to contrast an older and more weary version of the character.Mangold spoke about many fascinating aspects of his experience with Harrison Ford on Indiana Jones 5 during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. Among them was how Ford's age was an angle that the director wanted to explore. “We can’t hide from where we are in our lives — none of us can — and neither can Indiana Jones,” Mangold said. To portray this effectively, de-aging technology will be used on Ford to show the character in the prime of his career, which is meant as more than just a fun throwback to the previous films.
“We’re not relying solely on the audience’s memory of the previous films. It reminds everyone what he’s done, what he’s survived, what he’s accomplished. By showing him in his most hearty and then finding him at 70 in New York City, it produces for the audience a kind of wonderful whiplash of how they’re going to have to readjust and retool their brains for this guy," Mangold continued. "His past is a live memory for the audience, hanging over a man who is now living with anonymity in a world that no longer cares or recognizes the things he felt so deeply about.” The Indiana Jones 5 story is deeply connected to the character's legacy, and the flashbacks seem to be a gateway into the story from a contextual and narrative standpoint but also a thematic one.
Despite the nature of the film, Mangold says that certain age jokes were taken out of the script because Ford wanted to go with a show-don’t-tell approach, especially since the themes of Indiana Jones 5 closely resemble Ford's own life as an actor whose challenge is to live up to the legacy of his prior films, even if this resulted in an injury on the set of Indiana Jones 5. “If anything, he was the one who was fighting to do things, and then I would be like, ‘No, not this one.’ His attitude was tenacious and enthusiastic about all the aspects of the role, including the physical," Mangold said.
Indiana Jones' goddaughter will accompany him on this new adventure, so Indiana Jones 5 could set up a future protagonist similar to Naughty Dog's Uncharted 4 and Mangold's Logan. With Keaton's Batman returning to The Flash, 2023 looks to be the year of legacy characters returning for one last adventure.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is scheduled to be released in theaters on June 30, 2023.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter