Should the Indiana Jones Franchise Continue After Dial of Destiny?

The Indiana Jones franchise has recently returned with a new film and a possible Disney+ on the way, but should it continue, or should it rest?

Indiana Jones is one of the most beloved and iconic action-adventure franchises of the last 50 years. The Harrison Ford-led series presents just about everything you could want out of an adventure movie. It's a charismatic lead character fighting the good fight against Nazis and other powerful forces, with a good dosage of treasure hunting and supernatural elements mixed in there too. It's simple yet effective. The first three films were some of the most talked about and financially successful films of the 1980s, and in the years since, there have been numerous attempts to keep the franchise alive. The fifth feature film in the series, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, has recently opened in theaters and reintroduced audiences to the world of Jones and his daring escapades.

Update July 2, 2023: In honor of the release of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, this article has been updated to keep up to date with new information revealed in the latest film.

Ford confirmed at D23 this year that the newest Indiana Jones film will be his last outing as the character. Yet, there has still been a lot of discussion about the future of the series, both in films and on television and streaming. That raises the question: can the Indiana Jones franchise continue without its iconic star in the lead role? Even further, should it? Should the Indiana Jones franchise have just stayed a trilogy? If Dial of Destiny really is Ford’s last appearance in the role of Indiana Jones, the viability of the franchise’s future is put in doubt. Yet, Disney seems determined to make Indiana Jones into one of their landmark ongoing series.

History of the Series

The Indiana Jones series is one of many crown jewels in the filmography of director Steven Spielberg. The first film in the series, Raiders of the Lost Ark, was released in 1981 and is often considered among the best action films ever produced. With a story from the legendary Star Wars creator George Lucas and a screenplay from Lawrence Kasdan, Raiders was a prime example of a new Hollywood generation’s talents. It thoroughly earned its esteemed reputation. The film received a slew of nominations at that year’s Oscars as well, including Best Picture and Best Director. It ultimately walked away with five wins. Soon after, work began on the follow-up sequel (which is actually a prequel), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

Temple of Doom was released in 1984, and while it wasn’t as instantly loved as its predecessor, the film was still a smash hit. On top of that, the addition of the PG-13 rating to the MPAA film rating system in the United States was a direct result of the violence that occurred in the PG-rated Indy sequel. Temple of Doom was another action icon of the '80s, and fan appreciation for the film has warmed over the decades. It would then be another five years before the Indiana Jones trilogy was rounded out in 1989 with Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in 1989. The third film in the series was much better received than Temple of Doom, and the addition of Sean Connery as Jones’s father lifted the film to immense new heights.

After the great success of the Indiana Jones trilogy in the 1980s, there were several attempts in the ‘90s to keep the series alive, even if Ford wasn’t involved. The most notable of these efforts was the television series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, which explored the adventures of the lead character in his youth prior to Raiders of the Lost Ark. That series was not very well-liked, to say the least. The series only lasted for two seasons and was eventually converted into a collection of TV movies instead of a proper television show. Even then, it failed to garner much attention or acclaim, and the array of Young Indy adventures failed to make it out of the ‘90s.

21st Century Revival

Talks about a fourth Indiana Jones movie began around the same time that the Young Indiana Jones TV series was being produced. Lucas was interested in exploring the character through a sci-fi story set in the 1950s, but at the time, Ford and Spielberg wanted to move on to other projects. It wasn’t until the early-to-mid 2000s that the team came back together to produce the fourth installment in the series, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The film was released in 2008, nearly 20 years after The Last Crusade.

After the fourth film, Spielberg, Lucas, and Ford were all interested in returning for another Indiana Jones adventure sooner rather than later. It would take a little while to pull the project together, though, and then it was set back even further as a result of Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm in 2012. Development continued from there, with Spielberg eventually stepping back into a producing role to let Logan and Ford v Ferrari filmmaker James Mangold take over the directing duties. The fifth film in the series, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, was recently released in theaters and features Ford as the character in both the 1960s and digitally de-aged back to the Raiders era.

Beyond Dial of Destiny, there has also been discussion at Lucasfilm and Disney about continuing to produce Indiana Jones films after the fifth entry. Few details are known about how this would work, but the mantle of series lead would likely be passed to a new character, perhaps Jones’ goddaughter Helena, played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge in the new film. Disney is also in development on a Disney+ series set within the Indiana Jones universe, yet those discussions have slowed down.

Should The Series Be Left Alone?

As fun and popular as the Indiana Jones series is, it’s okay to let things come to an end sometimes. If there’s one thing that has been taught by the Young Indiana Jones show, it’s that the Indiana Jones movies probably should’ve just been left alone as a trilogy. Indiana Jones had its day, and fans will always remember it. The first three Indiana Jones movies have achieved a legendary status that is hard to replicate, and everything that has been released since those three films haven't quite matched the quality of the 1980s films.

Disney and Lucasfilm spent a reported $340 million on Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. That is a lot of money, and judging by the opening weekend box office numbers, it is a disappointment and will not make its money back in the theatrical market. Is this a franchise that has an appeal to modern-day audiences? Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull received a mixed reaction from fans, and that may have killed some of the excitement and momentum of seeing Indiana Jones return again. Disney, Lucasfilm, and fans need to ask themselves if this franchise is still relevant or if it belongs in a museum. Is it time to let Indiana Jones have its rest and stop insisting future generations need to hold on to every piece of Gen-X nostalgia?

Other Possible Plots Beyond Indy 5

As with the case of any franchise in Hollywood these days, the end is never really the end. There are always reboots, prequels, sequels, and more that are on the table. Wheater it is a good idea to extend these franchises this far is up for debate, but it does raise a question of if Indiana Jones as a franchise can continue without Indiana Jones himself.

If they recast and reboot it, Indiana Jones could be very much like James Bond. However, it also might be a case of does anyone care about Indiana Jones without Harrison Ford. When people say they like Indiana Jones does that just mean they like movies where Harrison Ford wears the costume? A similar scenario happened when Lucasfilm recast another famous Harrison Ford part in Solo: A Star Wars Story, and it became the first flop in the Star Wars franchise. Audiences liked Han Solo but did not care about a movie centered on the character without him.

They could also hand the franchise over to another character. The Rocky franchise seemed like it could not be made about the title character in the lead role, but the baton has been passed to the Creed franchise. Now it can stand on its own. Creed III, the first without the Rocky Balboa character, did well at the box office. At one point, Star Trek was just Kirk and Spock before they rolled the dice on new characters, and now it is an entire franchise.

What about the journey of Short Round? There are plenty of unanswered questions about the fan-favorite character audiences would like to know. A spin-off series would be interesting, and star Ke Huy Quan has expressed interest in reprising his role, so adventures of an older Short Round would be exciting. Following his Academy Award win, it would be a great way to capitalize on his popularity.

There is also the obvious, Helena Shaw. The character is introduced in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and seems primed to take on a mantle similar to him. It would be interesting to explore her adventures in the '70s and '80s, dropping her into a variety of genres and carrying the legacy of Indiana Jones forward. She could also act as a way to allow other characters from the franchise to appear in cameo roles, like John Rhys-Davies Sallah or Karen Allen's Marion Ravenwood.

There are also prequels set between the various films. Indiana Jones certainly has a lot of friendships with characters like Abner Ravenwood, Harold Oxley, Basil Shaw, and Renaldo that could be explored in spin-off films and television series. Really there are plenty of options. If Disney decides to move forward with an idea for an Indiana Jones spin-off series, there are many ways they could go with it. It might be tough to get used to at first without Harrison Ford being a regular, but diehard fans should still have a great interest in the world that the whip-handling archeologist is a part of.

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