DIAL OF DESTINY Director Says De-Aging Indiana Jones in the Opening Sequence Provides Meaningful Context
The fifth film in the Indiana Jones film franchise is right around the corner, and this movie comes over forty years after the first movie kicked off our first adventure with Indy. The first three films were made in the ‘80s, and the fourth came out 15 years ago. So naturally, one aspect of the story will highlight the age of the protagonist, and the way he comes at this quest will undoubtedly look different.
In the beginning of the film, we have seen the star de-aged in previously released footage, and in a recent interview with THR, director James Mangold explained why this sequence isn’t just a fun throwback but provides more meaningful context to the character for the rest of the film:
“It reminds the audience of the contrast between a hero in his physical prime and a hero at 70. 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. 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. You’re left with a multilayered perception of his character, both what he was and what he is, and how the world is different between the first 20 minutes of the movie.”
Ford shared his thoughts on the de-aging process with THR, stating:
“I never loved the idea until I saw how it was accomplished in this case — which is very different than the way it’s been done in other films I’ve seen. They’ve got every frame of film, either printed or unprinted, of me during 40 years of working with Lucasfilm on various stuff. I can act the scene and they sort through with AI every f**king foot of film to find me in that same angle and light. It’s bizarre and it works and it is my face.”
Ford recently revealed that obvious age jokes were taken out of the Dial of Destiny script, preferring to show versus tell. But when it came time to get physical, Mangold says Ford was able to rise to the challenge.
“Harrison was up for anything. 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.”
I am so excited to see Ford back as Indiana Jones! This movie sounds like it’s going to be a blast. Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny is set to hit theaters on June 30, 2023.