Steven Spielberg was originally set to direct Indiana Jones 5, but other projects got in the way and so Logan director James Mangold was hired to take on Harrison Ford’s final time in the role. Although the acclaimed filmmaker has stayed on as producer, some fans have been petrified over what the franchise would look like without the only man to helm the previous four movies. And now the 76-year-old Hollywood legend has seen Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and given his verdict.
Speaking at the Time 100 Summit, Spielberg shared: “I just had that experience two nights ago. [Disney boss] Bob Iger had a screening for a lot of the Disney executives and I came to the screening along with the director James Mangold. Everybody loved the movie.
“It’s really, really a good Indiana Jones film. I’m really proud of what Jim has done with it. When the lights came up I just turned to the group and said, ‘Damn! I thought I was the only one who knew how to make one of these.’”
Spielberg’s main piece of advice to Mangold was that the whole movie such be like a film trailer. The new director recently spoke with Total Film about the 25 minutes of a de-aged Ford (from 79 to 35) that feature in the blockbuster’s World War II scenes.
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Mangold shared: “It wasn’t a year of effort to get to a first pass. It was an incredible technology, and, in many ways, I just didn’t think about it. I just focused on shooting what’s [approximately] a 25-minute opening extravaganza that was my chance to just let it rip.
“The goal was to give the audience a full-bodied taste of what they missed so much. Because then when the movie lands in 1969, they’re going to have to make an adjustment to what it is now, which is different from what it was.”
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny hits UK cinemas on June 28, 2023.
