[WARNING: The following contains spoilers from “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.”]
“Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark” star Karen Allen was hoping her final bow in the franchise with Harrison Ford would be a little bigger than what audiences saw. But the actress is grateful she appeared in the final movie.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Allen explained changes with the story after Steven Spielberg stepped down from directing.
“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,” Allen told the outlet. “So, I knew James [Mangold] 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.
“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.”
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Karen Allen attends the Los Angeles premiere of LucasFilm’s “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” at Dolby Theatre in June 2023. (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
Allen’s character, Marion Ravenwood, appeared in the original Indiana Jones film, “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark” with Ford and the fourth film in the franchise, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”
Harrison Ford and Karen Allen on the set of “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” (Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)
In “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” Marion and Indy have a son together, Mutt, played by Shia LaBeouf. At the end of the film, Marion and Indy get married.
Karen Allen, Harrison Ford and actor Shia LaBeouf attend the “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” premiere in 2008. (Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage)
For “Dial of Destiny,” Allen’s character is absent for the bulk of the movie apart from one pivotal scene.
LaBeouf’s character does not return in the film and is instead said to have died during the Vietnam War, causing a rift between Marion and Indy that remains until the couple reconciles at the end of the movie.
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“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,” Allen said. “I mean, you could have knocked me over with a feather when I read it. But I was really happy that they came back together in the end.”
Allen and Ford’s real-life reunion was almost as brief as her appearance in the film due to Ford being busy with filming and recently returning to set after his shoulder injury.
Harrison Ford in a scene from the film “Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom,” 1984. (Paramount/Getty Images)
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“We just had a nice conversation to feel our way back into the characters and the circumstances of the characters,” Allen said. “He told me a bit about what they had been shooting and a bit about some of the references to Marion that existed in the film. So, we just kind of caught up with where the characters are at this moment.”
The 71-year-old is still happy to have been part of the franchise and revealed that, despite fan outcry, Marion was only ever intended to be in the first film in the “Indiana Jones” trilogy. It wasn’t until “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” that her character was set to return.
Karen Allen and Harrison Ford attend an “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” press conference in 2008 in Tokyo. (Jun Sato/WireImage)
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“But I was totally surprised when I learned there was going to be a fourth film, and … I did know that there was going to be a fifth,” Allen said. “When we finished shooting the fourth, there was already talk about there being a fifth and perhaps final episode. So, yes, I was always imagining I would be in it — and I am — but it’s just in a slightly different way than I had imagined.”
