One of the biggest moments and talking points of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is the fact that the film utilizes de-aging technology to throw us back in time to 1945 for an opening sequence of the film. The emerging technology de-ages the 80-year-old Harrison Ford for a large chunk of the beginning of Dial of Destiny. During the press conference for the film at Cannes Film Festival, this obviously inspired a question on whether or not we'd see a young Indiana Jones in future movies.
Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy was quick to shoot down the notion, simply answering, "No," to the question of more de-aged Ford. Indeed, while Ford expressed excitement for future seasons of Shrinking and 1923, he was not shy about emphasizing that this was his last movie as Indy. Ford also discussed how Lucasfilm used the technology as well as the archive of material the studio has from all his years working with them. Ford said:
"The technology has evolved, or this iteration of that technology, has evolved to the point where, to me, it seems very realistic. I know that that is my face — it's not Photoshop magic. That's what I looked like 35 years ago, because Lucasfilm has every frame of film that we've made together over all these years. This process, this scientific mining of this library was put to good — you know, it's just a trick unless it's supported by story. It sticks out like a sore thumb if it's not honest and it's not real. Not not real. I'm not talking about visually, I mean emotionally real. So I think it was used very skillfully and assiduously [in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny] so I'm very happy with it. But I don't look back and say, "I wish I was that guy again." Because I don't. I'm real happy with age, I love being older. It was great to be young, but shitfire, I could be dead."
Dial of Destiny Includes an Extensive Scene With De-Aged Harrison Ford
Most of Dial of Destiny centers around an older, more grizzled Indiana Jones, but the film opens with a long sequence featuring the de-aged Harrison Ford, taking us back to the end of World War II. This is not the first time Lucasfilm has utilized de-aging technology to bring us back to the past with a beloved actor. Mark Hamill was de-aged for his appearance in both The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett as Luke Skywalker.
As AI technology and de-aging technology develops and improves, studios might feel the desire to tap into a certain market of nostalgia lovers who simply want to see the younger version of their favorite actor back. However, as Ford points out, without a strong story, the de-aging, no matter how convincing, falls flat.