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Acclaimed filmmaker James Mangold, in a recent interview with Variety, spoke about his upcoming directorial Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, which is slated to release soon on June 30.
During the conversation, Mangold expressed his lack of willingness to make a spin-off film with Phoebe Waller-Bridge's Helena Shaw as the lead, labeling the process of making spin-offs as "large-scale advertising."
When asked whether he had indulged in any conversations with Lucasfilm and Disney about the possibilities of taking the series forward focusing on the adventures of Helena Shaw, Mangold stated:
"I’m not interested. 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."
Director James Mangold wanted Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny to have the same style and tone as its predecessors
James Mangold opened up about the interactions he had with Steven Spielberg, who stepped down from the director's chair in 2020 after helming the Indiana Jones franchise from 1981 to 2008, revealing that the Schindler's List filmmaker never disclosed his reason for not directing Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Mangold didn't bring it up during their conversations because he felt it was not his "business" and because he assumed Spielberg wanted to make The Fabelmans.
James Mangold and Steven Spielberg reportedly remained in contact throughout the production stage of The Dial of Destiny, with Spielberg giving the Logan filmmaker a valuable pointer on the look and feel of an Indiana Jones film, suggesting that he shoot it like a trailer, meaning "no scene can ever last too long."
The 59-year-old filmmaker stated:
“I never went there. I mean, it wasn’t my business. I knew he had a personal movie he had been working on, so I assumed that he wanted to make ‘The Fabelmans.’ But I didn’t grill him about it... Steven told me, ‘Think of shooting an “Indiana Jones” movie like you’re shooting a trailer — no scene can ever last too long"
James Mangold on the mixed response garnered by Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
James Mangold also touched on the mixed reviews that the fifth installment of the Indiana Jones franchise received after its screening at the recently held Cannes Film Festival 2023. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was an out-of-competition entry at the film festival and opened to mixed reviews, where critics criticized the strained screenplay and Phoebe Waller-Bridge's comedy track.
Addressing the criticism, Mangold said that he only wanted his film to be rated as the second or the third-best film in the franchise and that he was expecting the Harrison Ford-starrer to be compared with its predecessors.
"When you’re in franchise land, it’s very hard for critical thinkers (journalists) to overlook what I’m sure their editors want, which is this business prism of how does it rate to the other ones? I always thought if I were second or third best to one of the greatest films of all time, I’d be good. I mean, it all vaporizes later. Either the movie will live or it won’t."
Produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Lucasfilm, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is slated to hit the big screens on June 30, 2023.
