RUMOR: Is Disney Shooting a New Ending for Indy 5?

Movies

Is Disney finally listening to fans? Kind of, if cinema’s most beloved composer has his facts straight. Doomcock has been claiming that Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is a disaster in waiting, with a series of potential endings, all of which tested horribly. Indy, he said, will die and/or be erased from history, with Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s character either taking over for him or literally replacing him in history. These rumors were denied by the film’s director, James Mangold. Last night, however, Doomock released a video in which he claimed that a new ending was about to be filmed for The Dial of Destiny, and as proof, he had an audio recording of John Williams saying so at a concert in Milan:

At first, I was dubious about this. Doomcock seems like a nice guy, but he’s not exactly the most reliable source out there. (He’s said Kathleen Kennedy was about to be fired more times than they’ve recast Doctor Who.) But later, he tweeted the video of his audio clip featuring Williams saying this. Here’s the specific moment from the video, courtesy of Jonas Campbell:

Last night, John Williams told his audience that they are shooting a new ending to Indiana Jones V in a couple weeks.

Thanks to @doomcock for the find. Added captions for you.@wdwpro1 @ValliantRenegad pic.twitter.com/FZUOpjOpX7

— Jonas Campbell (@JonasJCampbell) December 14, 2022

Assuming Williams hasn’t made a mistake, this is interesting. It would seem to validate Doomcock’s reporting on the movie so far, particularly that the ending – or endings – already in the can didn’t go over well with test audiences. Whether the plot points Doomcock has claimed are true and James Mangold has denied really happened is still a mystery, but it certainly is a point in Doomcock’s favor. Did Mangold deny the rumors because they weren’t true or because he knew they were reshooting the ending and the previous versions would be locked up in a warehouse with the Ark of the Covenant? Was this the plan before the trailer was released, or did the lukewarm reception to it spur them to make the movie more palatable to fans? Did John Williams slip, or did they want this information out there to get people’s hopes up for the film? Regardless, it’s a good thing that they’re listening to fans. That doesn’t mean Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (a title someone was paid to come up with) will be good, and they certainly didn’t do this because they like or respect any of us. But they never will, and the goal is better movies for us and more money for them; to that end, this is a stepping stone, if nothing else – if it’s true.