The mixed reaction and box-office failure of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny doesn’t seem to faze Harrison Ford.
Unfortunately, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny wasn’t quite the triumph fans were hoping it would be. In addition to the mixed reviews, the film was one of the biggest box office bombs of the year, grossing $384 million worldwide on a budget said to be well over $300 million. While director James Mangold was hurt by the reaction to Dial of Destiny, Harrison Ford doesn’t seem to be too bothered.
“S*** happens,” Ford told the Wall Street Journal. “I was really the one who felt there was another story to tell. When [Indy] had suffered the consequences of the life that he had to live, I wanted one more chance to pick him up and shake the dust off his ass and stick him out there, bereft of some of his vigor, to see what happened.“
Despite everything, Ford said, “I’m still happy I made that movie.” I’ve always loved Indiana Jones, and while I enjoy all the movies, I’m still struggling with where to place Dial of Destiny. Is it better than Kingdom of the Crystal Skull? Is it worse? I think I need to watch it a few more times.
When Mangold mentioned last year that he was hurt by the reaction to the film, he wondered if audiences weren’t ready to accept Indy in his twilight years. “You have a wonderful, brilliant actor who’s in his eighties. So I’m making a movie about this guy in his eighties, but his audience on one other level doesn’t want to confront their hero at that age. And I am like, I’m good with it,” Mangold said. “We made the movie. But the question is, how would anything have made the audience happy with that, other than having to start over again with a new guy?“
Ford will next be seen in Captain America: Brave New World. The Marvel sequel follows Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), who, after meeting with newly elected U.S. President Thaddeus Ross (Ford), finds himself in the middle of an international incident. He must discover the reason behind a nefarious global plot before the true mastermind has the entire world seeing red. Brave New World will hit theaters on February 14th.
