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Harrison Ford explains why there are no old man jokes in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Harrison Ford explains why there are no old man jokes in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

When Harrison Ford reprised one of his most beloved roles for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, he already seemed a little long in the tooth to be running around as the titular adventuring archaeologist — and that was 15 years ago. But as the actor takes up the fedora and whip once again for this year's Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, he doesn't want to dwell on the age thing.

"There were a lot of old jokes in the script," Ford tells The Hollywood Reporter in a new interview. "We took them all out."

Ford continued, "There is a moment where he observes himself in this situation and says, 'What the f--- am I doing in here?' But I hate what I call 'talking about the story.' I want to see circumstances in which the audience gets a chance to experience the story, not to be led through the nose with highlights pointed out to them. I'd rather create behavior that is the joke of age rather than talk about it."

Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) in Lucasfilm's Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) in Lucasfilm's Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Jonathan Olley/Lucasfilm Ltd. Harrison Ford in 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny'

Still, even without direct references to it in Dial of Destiny's dialogue, the amount of time that's passed since the original Indiana Jones movies will be evident. After all, the latest installment is set to include flashback sequences in which Ford is de-aged to appear as his younger self. The good news? He says they actually look pretty good.

"I never loved the idea until I saw how it was accomplished in this case — which is very different than the way it's been done in other films I've seen," Ford said of the de-aging technology employed in the movie. "They've got every frame of film, either printed or unprinted, of me during 40 years of working with Lucasfilm on various stuff. I can act the scene and they sort through with AI every fucking foot of film to find me in that same angle and light. It's bizarre, and it works, and it is my face."

Dial of Destiny is directed by James Mangold, making it the first Indiana Jones film not helmed by original mastermind Steven Spielberg. But Ford clarified that Spielberg is still a big part of the production.

"Jim developed the script, so I knew what we were getting when we were going in that direction," Ford said. "But Steven's still on the picture and has always been on the picture. He's not the director this time, but he's intimately involved."

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny hits theaters June 30. Read the full interview with Ford in The Hollywood Reporter.

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