Indiana Jones star reflects on their surprise Dial of Destiny cameo: ‘That meant a lot to me’

Actor said their character’s role was significantly cut down after James Mangold took over as director in 2020

The fifth and final instalment in Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones saga is finally out in cinemas.

Warning – spoilers ahead for ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny stars Ford as the titular archeologist-cum-adventurer, Fleabag star Phoebe Waller-Bridge as his goddaughter Helena Shaw and Mads Mikkelsen as the dastardly ex-Nazi Jürgen Voller.

After the events of the fourth Indiana Jones movie, 2008’s beleaguered Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, fans assumed that Karen Allen’s Marian Ravenwood would return to the franchise once more.

Indy’s main love interest was first introduced in 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark. In Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Marian married Indy and revealed that Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf) was their son.

However, the fourth instalment was panned by critics and LaBeouf himself criticised the production, leading screenwriter David Koepp to reveal in 2017 that the Even Stevens star would not be reprising his role.

In Dial of Destiny, the events of which take place 12 years after those of Crystal Skull, it’s explained that Mutt died in the Vietnam War and that Indy and Marian have divorced.

Karen Allen attends the Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny U.S. Premiere at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on June 14, 2023. (Getty Images for Disney)

Nevertheless, Allen, 71, makes a surprise cameo right at the end of the movie to reconcile with Indy. In a touching throwback to their first meeting, Indy kisses Marian on the parts of her body that “don’t hurt” – a reversal of what happens in the 1981 film.

“I was profoundly happy that it didn’t end without them coming back together,” Allen told Variety of her and Ford’s characters. “That meant a lot to me, to feel like they were going to ride off in the sunset together.”

Allen revealed that Marian was largely cut out of the movie after James Mangold (Logan) took over directing duties from Steven Spielberg in 2020 and rewrote the script.

“I was disappointed, of course,” she admitted. “I knew that there had been talk that they did not want to go forward with Shia, so I knew that something in the story had to create the potential for him to not be there in a way that made sense. I didn’t know that he was going to die in Vietnam until I read the script, oh gosh, maybe just it was maybe six months before they were going to start shooting.”

Of her and Ford’s kissing throwback, Allen added: “It’s such a brief little scene and I think there is this sense of trying to put so much into it somehow. But it was lovely that they were able to bring the grief that Marion had been through with the loss of her son and just little moments like that all into that one little moment in the film.”

Mangold explained LaBeouf’s absence in a recent interview, saying “there’s only so many people you can edge into a picture”.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is out now in cinemas.

You can read The Independent’s three-star review here.