After having brought the iconic franchise to an end, James Mangold is looking back on Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was met with mixed-to-positive reviews and was a box office failure.

During a recent interview with Deadline for his Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, Mangold was asked about the lackluster reaction to Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. The co-writer/director recalled how its development came when the Dylan biopic was on hold amid COVID and Chalamet's Dune schedule, for which he was thrilled to get the opportunity, while also itting the long wait and Ford's age created a challenge to find a way to make "the audience happy with that", and that he was "hurt" by the reception to the movie. See what Mangold said below:

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. 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? And then here come lifelong heroes from my childhood into my life going, "We have something for you to work on." It was a joyous experience, but it hurt in the sense that I really love Harrison and I wanted audiences to love him as he was and to accept that that’s part of what the movie has to say—that things come to an end, that’s part of life.

What Indiana Jones & The Dial Of Destiny's Reception Meant For Mangold

It's Not The Worst Received In The Franchise

While no stranger to the world of blockbusters, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny still remains a rare entry in Mangold's filmography by venturing into franchise work. Prior to the 2023 movie, Mangold showcased his talents directing both The Wolverine and Logan in Fox's X-Men universe, the latter of which even netted him an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay, the first live-action superhero movie to do so. Even still, the former saw a similarly mixed response from critics as The Dial of Destiny, indicating a positive upturn in the spinoff franchise, as well as room to grow for Mangold.

With the 2023 Ford sequel, though it may be the lowest-grossing installment of the franchise, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is not the worst-reviewed one when it comes to audiences. As far as critics go, it does hold the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score of 70%, but with audiences, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has that unfortunate record, being the only one to have a Rotten score of 53%. Check out how The Dial of Destiny compares to the other Indiana Jones movies on Rotten Tomatoes and at the box office in the chart below:

When it comes to Mangold's future, it doesn't seem like Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny's lackluster reception has entirely deterred him from franchise filmmaking going forward. He recently confirmed the first draft of his Dawn of the Jedi script is nearly complete, while also having previously been announced to write and direct a Swamp Thing movie for the DC Universe, though no timing has been set for when either will begin filming or release.

Our Take On Indiana Jones & The Dial Of Destiny's Lackluster Reception

It Always Faced An Uphill Climb

Much to Mangold's point, delivering something that would appease all sides of the franchise's fanbase was never truly in the cards for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Ford's old age pretty much necessitated that it either be the end for the franchise, or the torch on to a new character, the latter of which would really have been met with division, and combined with some even feeling the time had ed for another installment, let alone one not helmed by Spielberg, it was always going to be an uphill climb for the move much like Star Wars' sequel trilogy.

Source: Deadline