Indiana Jones 5 Director ‘Not Interested’ in Carrying on the Franchise

Indiana Jones 5 director James Mangold is “not interested” in carrying on the franchise.

During an interview with Variety, he explained why he won’t make another Indiana Jones film following Indiana Jones and the Dial of the Destiny.

“I’m not interested,” he explained. “I refuse. I just can’t do it… The amount of lore and Easter eggs and fan service starts to become antithetical to any of this stuff at a certain point. It isn’t storytelling anymore. It’s large-scale advertising.”

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny marks the long-awaited return of Harrison Ford to his now-iconic role. However, it’s unlikely he’ll be back for another film.

“This is the final film in the series, and this is the last time I’ll play the character,” said Ford. “I anticipate that it will be the last time that he appears in a film.”

Ford added he is aware Disney and Lucasfilm are exploring an Indiana Jones TV series for Disney+, but stressed he will “not be involved in that if it does come to fruition”.

However, there’s one character who’s already tipped to carry on the franchise, and it’s not Indy — it’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s character, Helena Shaw. Essentially, she’s the catalyst for the events that unfold in The Dial of Destiny and as Indy’s goddaughter, it makes sense to keep the franchise alive with the adventures of one of his kin.

Indiana Jones producer Kathleen Kennedy admitted it’s “entirely possible” a Helena Shaw movie could happen… but not yet. “We’re not having any of those conversations right now,” she added. “We’re just focused on finishing this with Harrison.” Either way, it looks as though both Mangold and Ford won’t be back for another Indy movie.

IGN’s review of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny gave it 4/10 and said: “Earnest final efforts from Harrison Ford and John Williams couldn’t rescue a movie so directionless and haphazard, or action that fails to recapture the swashbuckling joys of the originals. By asking why Indy is on this adventure in the first place, and what the character gains on the other side of it, Dial of Destiny concocts paradoxical answers that fail to meet in the middle.”

Want to read more about Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny? Find out why Short Round isn’t in the Indiana Jones sequel as well as how to stream all the previous Indiana Jones movies.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.