Ahead of the imminent release of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny on Wednesday 28th June, Lucasfilm take a look at this iconic action hero in the first of a series of articles that will delve into the world of Indiana Jones as we prepare to journey with him one more time in his fourth sequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Throughout this memorable introduction, we meet an Indiana Jones who is keenly observant, aware of every detail in his surroundings. This man is dangerous, but also intelligent. Over the course of many adventures, we learn that Indy possesses a deep curiosity about the world. Wherever he travels, he seems to know the language. Whenever a new mystery presents itself, he seems to know the scraps of lore that form its origin.
Indy’s worldliness stretches back to his childhood, when Indy joins his parents on a world tour as seen in The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones. During an early stop in Egypt, Indy joins a group of archaeologists as they uncover an ancient tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Overcome by the experience of stepping thousands of years into the past, the enraptured young boy finds his career aspiration. He quickly demonstrates his aptitude by helping solve the mystery of a stolen artifact.
Decades later, a grown-up Indy still possesses the same exhilaration. As he enters the final chamber of the hidden temple where a golden idol sits perched on an altar, he takes a deep breath and smiles. Later in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Elsa Schneider describes Indy as “giddy as a school boy” when they discover a knight’s tomb. Even when Indy is embittered after losing his job in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, he can’t help but get pulled into the mystery of Harold Oxley’s disappearance and the clues he’s left behind.
