‘It’s Time for Me to Grow Up’

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny star Harrison Ford says it isn’t bittersweet saying goodbye to Indy.

During an interview with Variety, the soon-to-be-81-year-old Ford explained that he has no plans to retire from acting. “I don’t [plan to retire],” he said. “I don’t do well when I don’t have work. I love to work. I love to feel useful. It’s my jones. I want to be helpful.” However, Ford is ready to close the book on Indiana Jones.

When asked if leaving the character behind was bittersweet, Ford said, “No. It’s time for me to grow up.” The actor elaborated, “Six years ago, I thought maybe we ought to take a shot at making another one … And I wanted it to be about age because I think that rounds out the story that we’ve told and we brought it to the right place. I mean, the last one ended in kind of a suspended animation. There was not a real strong feeling of the conclusion or the closure that I always hoped for, the roundness and speaking to this issue of age. Not making jokes about it, but but making it a real thing.”

What’s next for Harrison Ford?

The fast-approaching Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny marks Ford’s fifth and final outing as Indy. He originated the role in Raiders and the Lost Ark (1981), subsequently reprising it in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008).

It was in 2019 that Ford effectively said goodbye to another iconic role, reprising Han Solo one last time in fellow Lucasfilm movie Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. While the actor appears to be done with both Indiana Jones and Star Wars, he’s currently gearing up to enter another major Disney-owned franchise. Ford is set to join Marvel Studios’ Marvel Cinematic Universe in the upcoming film Captain America: Brave New World. He will play Thaddeus E. “Thunderbolt” Ross, taking over the role from the late William Hurt.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny opens in theaters on June 30.