Karen Allen Basically Saved Her Character From Being Erased in ‘Indiana Jones 5’
The first Indiana Jones instalment that Steven Spielberg wasn’t directing, the movie failed on many levels, also giving one of the leads a role way too small.
Having survived the most turbulent times throughout decades, the Indiana Jones franchise was never the same when the fifth movie came out a couple of years back, and there are so many reasons why some fans think a rumoured reboot is actually a good idea.
Sill starring Harrison Ford as the titular character, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was the first movie in the beloved franchise to not be helmed by Steven Spielberg whose script eventually went through too many changes to still seem good.
Unexpectedly, Indiana Jones’ long-standing love interest was almost kicked out of the storyline when James Mangold came on board as a new director.
However, even with the issue being sorted out in the end, things were still pretty different from what Spielberg’s movies had.
Karen Allen Reveals Her Marion Ravenwood Wasn’t in James Mangold’s Script
For those who have been with Indiana Jones for long enough, Marion Ravenwood is an integral part of the whole story and the lead character’s love interest that has been there ever since Spielberg directed the franchise’s first movie Raiders of the Lost Ark back in 1981.
Despite this, Mangold thought Indy would be doing just fine traveling around and not thinking much about his actual wife, according to Marion’s actress Karen Allen.
“When Steven was gonna direct [Indiana Jones 5], I was majorly [featured]. It was about us, Indy and Marion. But then when he stepped to the side and they went off in a different direction — I think I can say this now because it’s been some time — I wasn’t in the original script that they finished when James Mangold [came aboard]”, Allen said during her appearance at Connecticut's Terrificon recently (shared by ComicBook.com).
When she was informed that her character would no longer be featured in the fifth movie, Allen responded by saying that this was a huge mistake, since “Marion is such a vital, interesting, wonderful character you created, you can’t just let her disappear”.
In the end, a personal letter to Mangold, Spielberg and the franchise’s producer Kathleen Kennedy helped to solve the issue, though not just as much as everyone else on set would want it.
Karen Allen’s Role in ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ Is Still Too Small
Even though the character would obviously play a much bigger role if Spielberg was to direct, in Mangold’s take on Indiana Jones’ story Marion’s involvement was reduced to just one short scene in the end of the movie.
As Allen also admitted, this wasn’t exactly what she wanted for her character.
“I hoped Marion would be more a part of the final one. I just wanted to stand up for the character, not so much myself. But I really felt like Marion deserves better, that’s what I thought”, the actress revealed.
Eventually, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny also turned out to be the lowest-grossing instalment of the entire franchise, earning $384 million against a baffling $294 million budget.
