Speaking with Deadline in an exit interview, Kathleen Kennedy effectively acknowledged that Indiana Jones has no active future at Lucasfilm following the commercial collapse of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
During the interview, Deadline directly challenged the wisdom of bringing Harrison Ford back for a fifth installment, asking whether Dial of Destiny was an example of Ford “staying a little too long at the dance.” Kennedy pushed back on that framing, but in doing so revealed just how limited the franchise’s future has become.
“No, no. I have no regrets about that because Harrison wanted to do that more than anything,” Kennedy said. “He did not want Indy to end with the fourth movie. He wanted a chance at another, and we did that for him. I think that was the right thing to do.”
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MAY 23: Kathleen Kennedy, President, Lucasfilm attends the launch event for Lucasfilm’s new Star Wars series The Acolyte at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California on May 23, 2024. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)
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Kennedy’s answer makes clear that Dial of Destiny was not driven by market demand or a broader creative roadmap, but rather by a desire to give Ford a final outing. That decision came at a steep cost. The film reportedly carried a production budget north of $350 million and went on to become one of Disney’s most high-profile box office disappointments in recent years, prompting a major financial write-down.
Nobody is Interested in Indiana Jones?
More revealing than Kennedy’s defense of the film, however, was her blunt assessment of where the franchise stands now.
“I don’t think Indy will ever be done,” Kennedy said. “But I don’t think anybody is interested right now in exploring it.”
Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Lucasfilm
That single sentence represents a stark admission. In Hollywood terms, a franchise with “nobody interested” internally is a franchise with no development slate, no momentum, and no priority. While Kennedy added the familiar corporate reassurance that Indiana Jones is “timeless” and will “never be done,” she offered no indication of any active projects, pitches, or plans.
Deadline followed up by asking whether that meant another film featuring “the whip and the fedora” was still on the table. Kennedy’s response again leaned heavily on legacy control rather than future vision.
CANNES, FRANCE – MAY 18: Phoebe Waller-Bridge attends “Indiana Jones and The Dial Of Destiny” photocall at Carlton Pier on May 18, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Disney)
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“You never know,” she said. “But we are all still here, Steven and Frank and I, and Harrison and George. So we get to say whether there’s going to be any more, or not.”
Rather than teasing a continuation, Kennedy framed the franchise as something effectively locked behind a small group of aging legacy figures — a reality that does little to suggest forward-looking development.
A Canceled Animated Series
That assessment aligns with recent reporting indicating that multiple Indiana Jones projects have already been quietly shelved. Most notably, an animated Indiana Jones series that had been in development at Lucasfilm under the code name “Reggie” was reportedly canceled without ever being publicly announced. The project was said to be far enough along to have creative leadership attached before being abandoned in the wake of Dial of Destiny’s failure and Lucasfilm’s broader internal shakeups.
A screenshot from Indiana Jones and The Great Circle – YouTube, Bethesda Softworks
Indiana Jones has struggled for decades to find a sustainable future beyond Harrison Ford. The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles ended in the early 1990s, and no successful television or animated continuation has ever materialized since.
Attempts to keep the brand alive through games and nostalgia-driven revivals have not translated into a viable long-term strategy.
James Mangold’s Star Wars Film Officially Put “On Hold” After Dial of Destiny Failure
The fallout from Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny has also followed director James Mangold into his other high-profile work with Lucasfilm.
Mangold, who oversaw Dial of Destiny’s disastrous box office performance, had previously been announced as the filmmaker behind a long-heralded standalone Star Wars project that would explore the origin of the Jedi. That film was positioned as a bold, new direction for the franchise and was publicly touted as one of Lucasfilm’s future tentpoles.
That’s no longer the case.
CANNES, FRANCE – MAY 18: (L-R) James Mangold, Harrison Ford, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge attend “Indiana Jones and The Dial Of Destiny” photocall at Carlton Pier on May 18, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Disney)
During her exit interviews, Kathleen Kennedy confirmed that Mangold’s Star Wars movie is now officially “on hold.” Kennedy attempted to frame the delay as a creative necessity, claiming the film is unusually complicated and requires additional development time.
However, such explanations have become a familiar refrain at Lucasfilm. Over the past several years, the studio has repeatedly announced ambitious Star Wars films — only to quietly shelve or indefinitely delay them once creative confidence or internal momentum evaporates. In practice, “on hold” has frequently functioned as a polite corporate euphemism for cancellation.
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 07: James Mangold and Dave Filoni onstage during the studio panel at Star Wars Celebration 2023 in London at ExCel on April 07, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Kate Green/Getty Images for Disney)
There is no confirmation that Mangold’s stalled Star Wars project is directly tied to the failure of Dial of Destiny. Still, the timing is difficult to ignore. In an environment where Lucasfilm is openly reassessing its franchises after costly misfires, the decision to sideline a director coming off one of the studio’s most expensive flops makes practical sense — regardless of how diplomatically the pause is described.
Taken together, the shelving of Mangold’s Star Wars film and the admission that Indiana Jones has no future momentum reflect a broader pattern: Lucasfilm continues to announce projects it ultimately cannot — or will not — deliver.
Does Indiana Jones Have a Future?
Kennedy’s comments now confirm what many observers have suspected since Dial of Destiny underperformed: Lucasfilm has effectively put the franchise on ice. While the studio may continue to invoke the idea that Indiana Jones will “never be done,” there is currently no creative will or commercial justification to bring the character back in any meaningful way for the future.
Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Lucasfilm
Until Lucasfilm undergoes a significant creative shift — and until someone can articulate a vision for the franchise that does not rely on legacy goodwill — Indiana Jones appears to be finished as an active brand.
For all practical purposes, the fedora has been hung up.
Do you think Indiana Jones has a future? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
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Yeah, and who’s fault is it that Diaper of Density flopped hard, Kathy?
Not your’s as per your interview, let me guess.. It’s my fault, the fans fault, all the *ists fault, am i getting warm??
Go F**K yourself already you stupid cow.
I can’t wait for this women to fade into obscurity.
And this is my last comment on anything to do with this bitch!
On a side note, i can’t wait to see that concrete feminist Waller-Bridge fuck up yet another franchise in Tomb Raider, hopefully that will be the end of her career too, but i fear she will only get promoted as per the Hollywood norm, fail upwards like her friend Kathy has..
It’s so unfortunate that another legendary franchise was destroyed that was probably one of the last straw for Kathleen kennedy that and the acolyte man she should’ve left along time ago. Such ashame that Indiana Jones played by the legendary Harrison Ford was sideline in his own movie and the new characters Helena Shaw played by Phoebe Walker Bridge took over the spotlight from Ford
Harrison Ford deserves more humiliation rituals. Same with Mark Hamill. Let it all burn.
Indiana Jones never had a future as long as Kennedy was in charge of the franchise.
Fibi character was obnoxious. The movie would probably flop without her anyway, but she was success proof. They should have left the franchise alone when they ended it last time.