"I Was Disappointed": Indiana Jones 5's Surprise Cameo Actor Expected Bigger Role



The actor behind one surprise cameo in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny reveals that she was originally disappointed at how small her role was.


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Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny features a surprise return appearance from Karen Allen's Marion, and the actor now reveals that she was initially disappointed at how small her role is. Directed by James Mangold, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny serves as the final film in the long-running franchise. The sequel sees Harrison Ford's intrepid archeologist questing after Archimedes' Antikythera device while also dealing with guilt over the death of his son, Mutt (Shia LaBeouf), and its impact on his marriage with Marion.

Now, in a recent interview with THR, Allen speaks out about her return as Marion during the Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny ending, revealing that she was originally expecting a bigger role. This expectation stems from the fact that the fifth movie was originally going to come not long after Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull before it ultimately went through a number of big creative changes. Check out Allen's full comment below:

"When Steven was still going to direct the film, I didn’t have the opportunity to read any of those scripts, although I know that Marion was much more involved in the story at that juncture. Steven and I had spoken after he decided he was going to step down as director, and he said to me, 'You’re going to love working with James Mangold.' And I said, 'Oh, great.'

"So I knew James had hired new writers and that there was going to be a whole new approach with a new director and new writers, but I was really going into the unknown.

"And the next thing I knew, I was reading a script that told [Dial of Destiny’s] story, and of course, I was disappointed. I had thought that I would be majorly a part of the film, and that was just not the direction they decided to go.

"I think they had some problems to solve with the story in terms of Shia LaBeouf not coming back, and they chose to create this story that Mutt had been killed in the war and that it put a wedge between Marion and Indy. I mean, you could have knocked me over with a feather when I read it. (Laughs.) But I was really happy that they came back together in the end."

Should Marion Have Had A Bigger Role In Dial Of Destiny?

After playing a crucial role in 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark and then not appearing for either of the two sequels, Marion once again became a key character in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Spielberg's fourth film in the franchise wasn't particularly well received, but, generally speaking, this had little to do with Marion's return and more to do with the introduction of aliens and the positioning of LaBeouf's Mutt as Indy's successor. Marion, then, likely would've been a welcome inclusion had she played a bigger role in the latest movie.

That being said, as Allen explains, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny had to deal with Mutt's absence. Mangold ultimately chose to kill Mutt off, but this decision wasn't just used to explain why a previously introduced character didn't return, but is a plot point around which Indy's entire arc revolves. Perhaps more so than any previous entry in the franchise, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny delves into Ford's hero on a fairly deep emotional level, using Mutt's death as a window into this later stage of Indy's life.

Marion's brief appearance during the Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny ending completes Indy's arc and paints a hopeful path forward for the character as they work to make amends. While featuring more of Marion in the story could have helped to further dig into the film's emotional stakes, this likely wouldn't have fit with Mangold's vision to recapture the Indy/ sidekick dynamic of the first few films. Ultimately, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny nails its final moments, and Marion, despite her brief screen time, still plays a crucial role in Indy's arc.

Source: THR