Harrison Ford is about to don his fedora in the fifth installment of the Indiana Jones saga.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny hits theatres on June 30, 2023 in the US. Directed by James Mangold, who co-wrote the script with Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth, the latest movie is the first in the series not to be directed by Steven Spielberg nor with a story written by George Lucas. (Spielberg and Lucas take on executive producer status instead.)
However that’s not the only changes fans can expect from Dial of Destiny. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Ford (80) admits that he ordered several ageist jokes to be removed from the script before filming.
“There were a lot of ‘old’ jokes in the script. We took them all out,” says Ford. “There is a moment where he observes himself in this situation and says, “What the fuck am I doing in here?” But I hate what I call “talking about the story.” I want to see circumstances in which the audience gets a chance to experience the story, not to be led through the nose with highlights pointed out to them. I’d rather create behavior that is the joke of age rather than talk about it.”
Director Mangold adds that the script works to reflect Ford’s age and the way the world has radically changed around his iconic character.
“The mistake you can make in movies is when someone is of a ripe age but the movie continues this charade that they’re not that old,” Mangold says. “Every challenge he faces is through the reality of what someone of that age would be dealing with.”
On set, Mangold says Ford “looks for ways to make it more like life, mess up the false moments and to take the piss out of his own character. He’s got this great sense of how to be a hero and how to undermine the tropes of heroism at the same time.”
Mangold added that Ford was willing to endure physical punishment to get that perfect take. Yet at one point on set, after being thrown onto the ground yet again, even Ford had enough, telling he director: “That’s the last time I’m falling down for you!”
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