Гаррісон Форд у фільмі «Індіана Джонс і циферблат долі» / Lucasfilm Ltd.
Despite “Indiana Jones 5” debuting in theaters over a year ago, its flop still haunts director James Mangold. What’s more — he seems to have pinpointed the reason for the “rejection” and believes it was due to the age of the leading actor.
Currently, “Indiana Jones and the Relic of Fate” scores 70% on Rotten Tomatoes, but box office numbers look less promising: a modest $329 million worldwide, resulting in $134 million losses for Disney (via Forbes).
Mangold has his own theory about the failure. In an interview with Deadline, the director stated that audiences probably just didn’t want to see 81-year-old Harrison Ford reprising his role:
“You have a great actor who’s over 80. And you make a movie about him. But the audience doesn’t want to accept the hero at that age,” Mangold says. “The question is, would the audience have been happier if we started all over with a new character?”
The director emphasized that he was deeply hurt by the audience and critics’ reaction to the film (during its Cannes premiere, reviews were quite modest), adding that he “really wanted the audience to love Ford as he is.”Given the latest box office, the franchise has officially hit a dead end, and now even a sequel starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge in the lead role seems unlikely.
“Indiana Jones has finally retired — and did it in his own style. With adventures, snappy one-liners, and treasures. Some might find such a formula unnecessary in 2023. But as they say, if Hollywood stars are making comebacks even in their old age, it must be for someone,” wrote ITC film critic Nikita Kazimirov in his review last year.