Harrison Ford's emotional fifth and final film as Indiana Jones

The much-anticipated film in the beloved franchise opens in theaters nationwide on Friday.

ByAlicia Vitarelli WABC logo
Wednesday, June 28, 2023
Harrison Ford's emotional fifth and final film as Indiana Jones
"It completes 42 years of work," says Ford, of this emotional moment in his career. "It's a movie I always wanted to do at the end of the Indiana Jones period of my life."

PHILADELPHIA -- Harrison Ford is reprising his role as Indiana Jones for a fifth and final time in "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny."

The much-anticipated film in the beloved franchise opens in theaters nationwide on Friday.

I had a chance to chat with Ford about the role he has always referred to lovingly as "his favorite."

What an absolute delight it was to talk to him about this character, this moment, and how Lucasfilm applied some pretty amazing artificial intelligence to "de-age" him for a flashback scene.

WATCH | Harrison Ford on final 'Indiana Jones' adventure: 'The spark is still there'

"I want to see all of Indiana Jones before I put him to bed," said Ford.

Ford turns 81 in a few weeks. He tells me that he's grown up and grown old with his dear "Indy."

"It completes 42 years of work," says Ford, of this emotional moment in his career. "It's a movie I always wanted to do at the end of the Indiana Jones period of my life. I always wanted to visit him towards the end of his life."

Here, we find Indiana Jones retiring, or so he thinks.

"I thought it would be great to see this character revived by one final adventure," Ford says.

Franchise newcomer Phoebe Waller-Bridge is Helena Shaw, the daughter of Indiana Jones' late friend and archaeologist Basil Shaw.

They go up against Nazis to recover an ancient artifact, a dial that can change the course of history.

The film starts with flashback scenes of a much younger Indiana Jones. For Harrison Ford, the magic of artificial intelligence allowed them to capture his face half his life ago.

"That is my face 40 years ago," he explains, "because Lucasfilm has every frame of film that was ever exposed on me, those that were used in other movies, but also all the takes that weren't used. They have this mine of images. They just had to find the right angle and the right light. But I had to act those scenes. That's my mouth. Those are my eyes. Those are my feelings."

And yes, at 80 years young, Harrison Ford is still doing some of his own stunts.

"There's a lot of action in it," Ford tells me, "but there's also a lot of heart. It's a story we wanted to tell."

"Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" opens in theaters nationwide Friday.

Ford says he's pretty sure this will "knock your socks off."