Indiana Jones: Did Disney Just Imply Dial Of Destiny Killed The Franchise?

One would assume a new Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) movie would be met with excitement and aplomb. But that wasn't the case when "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" came out in the summer of 2023. Reviews for "Dial of Destiny" were fairly mixed, which likely made more people okay with waiting for it to come out on streaming. "Dial of Destiny" bombed at the box office, taking in only $82 million in the United States during its first five days in theaters against a budget of nearly $300 million. And now, Disney may have subtly hinted that it's the last of the franchise.

Disney recently put out a press release announcing that "Dial of Destiny" will arrive on Disney+ on December 1. In it, they specifically describe the movie as "the final installment in the epic, iconic franchise." Indiana Jones is a hot property, or at least it was before the latest installment tapped out at the global box office at just under $400 million. Based on this press release, it would appear that Disney is calling it a day after the poor performance of "Dial of Destiny." Of course, this could be reading too much into the phrasing, as there could be another way of looking at the issue. 

To be fair, it was always kind of assumed that "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" would be an ending of sorts. Before the movie even hit theaters Harrison Ford announced that it would be the last "Indiana Jones" movie for him. That being said, there's always a chance that the final adventure for Indiana Jones himself won't be the end of the franchise altogether. 

"Dial of Destiny" introduces Indy's goddaughter, Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), who seems to take after his adventurous spirit. She could lead a whole new series that's still within the Indiana Jones universe. Additionally, Short Round (Ke Huy Quan) was Indy's sidekick in "Temple of Doom," and with Quan's newfound resurgence and Oscar win for "Everything Everywhere All At Once," plenty of people would likely be stoked to see him take on the archaeologist mantle. These are just ideas, but they would give Disney a way to continue capitalizing on the Indiana Jones name while still declaring "Dial of Destiny" the ending of his particular journey. 

Then again, Disney may call this the last Indiana Jones movie only to bring Ford back for one more go. It wouldn't be unheard of. Hugh Jackman's Wolverine had a stellar ending with "Logan," only to be brought back for "Deadpool 3." But for now, people should probably say goodbye to Indy for the time being.