Dial Of Destiny made Steven Spielberg proud to pass along his legacy to James Mangold
Spielberg's first reaction to James Mangold's take on the Indiana Jones franchise? "Damn! I thought I was the only one who knew how to make one of these.”
Aux News Steven Spielberg
When it comes to successfully extending a franchise, there are few things more important than striking a balance between innovation and nostalgia. With an overwhelming onslaught of reboots on Hollywood’s horizon, it can feel like nobody wants to reject the churn mentality, get up and work on both good and good-faith extensions of beloved series. But a new glowing review of James Mangold’s Indiana Jones and the Dial Of Destiny from Steven Spielberg himself offers a shred of hope that maybe, just maybe, the best directors of our time can live to see their greatest hits grow into fat and happy franchises.
While speaking at a Time 100 Summit, Spielberg had very positive things to say about Dial of Destiny, the first feature-length Indiana Jones film for which Spielberg hasn’t manned the director’s chair. Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, Antonio Banderas, and more star alongside Harrison Ford himself—who has said Dial Of Destiny will mark his last performance as the titular Jones.
Responding to a question about how it feels watching an Indiana Jones movie he didn’t helm, Spielberg recounted his experience seeing Dial of Destiny with Mangold for the first time at a Bob Iger-hosted screening attended by “a lot” of Disney’s C-suite.
“Everybody loved the movie,” Spielberg shares. “It’s really, really a good Indiana Jones film. I’m really proud of what Jim has done with it… When the lights came up I just turned to the group and said, ‘Damn! I thought I was the only one who knew how to make one of these.’”
Known for past projects like The Wolverine and Ford v. Ferrari, Mangold is no stranger to taking an existing story and spinning it into something fresh. After Dial Of Destiny, he’ll tackle his own take on a Bob Dylan biopic, working title A Complete Unknown. Timothée Chalamet stars as the singer in the upcoming film, which still doesn’t have an official release date.
Following a slated world premiere at Cannes next month, Indiana Jones and the Dial Of Destiny lands in theaters on June 30.