‘Things come to an end’ – The director of ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ says he was ‘hurt’ by the film’s reception

James Mangold talks about the mixed reaction to his 2023 blockbuster Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Mangold, the celebrated director behind it Logan And Ford vs FerrariHe was given the unenviable task (or unenviable, depending on how masochistic you are) of shutting down and taking over the beloved franchise Steven Spielbergand he faced the daunting challenge of delivering a satisfying finale Harrison Ford’s iconic adventurer. Although the film had many fans, it didn’t make any money at the box office and the film wasn’t exactly a big hit with critics either.

Speaking to Deadline during the promotional tour for him Bob Dylan Biopic A Completely unknownMangold spoke candidly about the disappointing response to the film and was very candid about the disconnect between audiences’ expectations of an Indiana Jones film with a star in his 80s and his personal sadness. When asked how audiences reacted to the film, Mangold admitted that it was hard to swallow.

“You have a wonderful, brilliant actor who is in his eighties. So I’m making a film about this man in his eighties, but his audience doesn’t want to confront his hero at that age on another level. And I think I’m good with it. We made the film. But the question is, how could anything have made the audience happy with this other than having to start over with a new guy?”

For Mangold, the experience is about work Dial of Destiny was a joyful experience, especially because of the chance to work with Ford. However, when he saw the audience’s reaction, he felt confused. “It hurt in the sense that I really love Harrison and I wanted the audience to love him for who he was and accepting that that’s part of what the film has to say – that Things come to an end, that’s part of life.”

Was Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny bad?

Well, no, it wasn’t. Despite the mixed reviews Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was better received by the audience than the much-maligned ones Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. According to Rotten Tomatoes, Dial of Destiny scored 70% from critics and 87% from audiences, which is significantly higher than Crystal skull 53% audience rating, but that just didn’t translate to the box office as it remains the lowest-grossing film in the franchise, grossing $383.96 million worldwide and losing Disney around $130 million.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is streaming on Disney+.

Archaeologist Indiana Jones races against time to recover a legendary artifact that can change the course of history.

Release date

June 30, 2023

Duration

142 minutes

writer

Jon Kasdan, Philip Kaufman, David Koepp, George Lucas

Watch on Disney+