Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny: release date, cast, plot, trailers and everything we know

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the fifth and final movie in the epic saga, sees Harrison Ford returning for one last crack of the whip at playing the adventurer.

The first-look snap shows Ford once again wearing the most famous hat in cinema and carrying a flashlight as he navigates a terrifying-looking rope bridge. And now many more further images (below) have been revealed, plus we have multiple clips and trailers to enjoy, featuring Indiana among other things punching a Nazi and jumping out of a plane. The latest clip (below) to be released sees Indiana and Helena get into some trouble via water displacement (Indiana: "Archimedes was fascinated by water displacement"). 

The film is set in 1969 and will see Indiana battling ex-Nazis who are now running the moon-landing program.

Although in a fascinating twist the movie will open in 1944 with Indiana escaping a castle packed with Nazis.

Talking to Total Film, the director James Mangold explained how they de-aged Ford for the opening sequence.

"I could shoot Harrison on a Monday as, you know, a 79-year-old playing a 35- year-old, and I could see dailies by Wednesday with his head already replaced," 

Ford has said he's “really proud” of the new movie, which is good news for fans who were largely underwhelmed by the previous outing, 2008's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

That movie peaked after about 15 minutes and never really recovered! Hopefully, Indiana Jones 5 can capture the magic of 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark, undoubtedly one of the greatest adventure movies of all time.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) also had its moments, while Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) saw Ford and Sean Connery wonderfully team-up.

Ford has further promised the movie is "fantastic" in an emotional speech he made at Disney's D23 Expo event.

The first reactions are in after its premiere and they've been quite positive.

Here's everything we know about Indiana Jones 5…

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny release date

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny will be released on June 28, 2023, in the UK. Two days later on June 30, it will be released in the US. It enjoyed its global premiere at the Cannes Film Festival back in May.

Check out our new movies 2023 guide for movies coming out in 2023.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny trailers

OK let's start with the most recent clip to be released...

The first official trailer for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny includes Indy and Sallah reuniting, more Nazis and even a Star Wars Easter egg, plus teases some of the new antics that Indy gets himself into (like bringing a whip to a gun fight). Watch the trailer right here:

On April 7, another trailer for the movie was released. The background music alone is enough to send longtime Indiana Jones fans into a fever pitch of pure excitment. Take a look at the clip below. 

A second trailer dropped during the Super Bowl. It sees Indiana showing age won't stop him from leaping out of a plane.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny cast

Harrison Ford returns as Indiana and the rest of the cast is top draw, as you’d expect from a huge Hollywood movie. Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, Antonio Banderas, Boyd Holbrook, Toby Jones, Shaunette Renée Wilson and John Rhys-Davies, back as Sallah, are among the stars lined up.

Mads Mikkelsen, who plays villain Voller, spoke to Variety about his excitement in co-starring alongside Ford, saying: "Every day of shooting felt like a real Indiana Jones film. It felt like going back to scratch. Everything looked like it. Harrison was there wearing his [Indiana Jones] clothes. It was just a brilliant experience."

Talking about his character to Empire, he added: "He's a man who would like to correct some of the mistakes of the past."

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny plot

The film will be set in mainly set in 1969 in the middle of the space race. "The simple fact is that the moon-landing program was run by a bunch of ex-Nazis," co-writer Jez Butterworth told Empire. 

The heart of the story is Indiana and his goddaughter Helena, played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, taking on ex-Nazi Jurgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), who's now working for the Americans as part of their space program.

Indiana Jones will be older, although the movie won't play on that element too much. We know from the trailers that he still loathes Nazis and he hasn't lost any of his lust for action.

The action-packed opening sequence is set in 1944 and will see a young Indiana escape from a castle packed with Nazis. Mangold explains: "The goal was to give the audience a full-bodied taste of what they missed so much. Because then when the movie lands in 1969, they’re going to have to make an adjustment to what it is now, which is different from what it was."

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny pictures...

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First reactions and our Indiana Jones review

First reactions seem pretty positive, with Total Film, a sister publication to What to Watch, calling the movie "a terrific thrill ride" and Variety Awards editor Clayton Davis proclaiming it as "redemption" for the franchise. Plus, one reviewer calling the movie an "instant classic."

The Guardian wrote: "...the finale is wildly silly and entertaining, and that Dial of Destiny is put to an audacious use which makes light of the whole question of defying ageing and the gravitational pull of time. Indiana Jones still has a certain old-school class."

Then there's the Irish Times, which didn't hold anything back when it called the latest Indiana Jones movie, "pure hokum".

In our Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny review, we wrote: "Amid a series of fan-pleasing callbacks to the series’ previous movies, and the reappearance of some familiar friends, Ford’s Indy still has his gruff charisma and flashes of his old old humor, while the years and the mileage we have shared with him make this farewell outing rather touching too."

Official poster

We love this poster for the movie and perhaps it's a contender for our best movie posters list!

Where was Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny filmed?

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny has been shot in various locations including the UK, Italy and the US. In the UK the North Yorkshire Moors Railway was used for a scene in which there's an escape from a Nazi prison camp, according to the Yorkshire Post. While a street in Glasgow doubled for an American parade. Coliemore Harbour in Dublin, Ireland, was also used during filming. Plus, as our photo above illustrates, shooting took place in Sicily, Italy.

Who's the director of Indiana Jones 5?

James Mangold rather than Steven Spielberg is directing. Spielberg directed the first four movies and is still a producer on this outing. Mangold’s directing credits include Walk the Line (2005), 3:10 to Yuma (2007) and The Wolverine (2013).

Mangold commented on Twitter that he’s determined the film will be a success. “I understand wariness. I live it. I don’t know if I’ll make you happy but my team and I will knock ourselves out trying to make something good.”

Is John Williams composing for Indiana Jones 5?

Yes! Legendary composer John Williams has composed music for Indiana Jones 5. Williams, whose long list of credits include Star Wars, Harry Potter, Jurassic Park and Jaws, has actually teased some of the music from the theme already. Here's the theme for Helena, played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge...