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.”
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.