Indiana Jones as a series has had ups and downs. Almost everyone hates Kingdom of the Crystal Skull; most people love Raiders of the Lost Ark the most. The series has had its mistakes, but now there’s a chance to redeem the bad with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

While Kingdom of the Crystal Skull may have soured you on the subject of more sequels, director James Mangold has a pretty impressive track record of really well-made movies. If he can avoid a few key mistakes, he may very well have a hit on his hands with Dial of Destiny.

Give Sallah a Meaningful Story

     Paramount Pictures

When Sallah (John Rhys-Davies) first walks into the frame in that glorious establishing shot of Raiders of the Lost Ark, he’s well-connected, intelligent, and very clearly an important man in the Cairo community. When Sallah appears on-screen in The Last Crusade, he’s been demoted to a stupid comedic relief. He went from knowing a man who could read the gold medallion and having connections all over to collecting camels as compensation for his brother-in-law and telling Indy that his father is trapped “in the belly of that steel beast.”

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When did Sallah’s purpose become being mad over a destroyed car belonging to his brother-in-law? What is Sallah even really doing in that film? They aren’t in Egypt when they arrive at the Canyon of the Crescent Moon, further supporting the idea that they just needed someone to look clumsy and stupid while they went on their adventures. Compare that to Raiders, where Indy would be absolutely lost without a local contact to tell him where a translator is and run a distraction while he’s in the map room locating the Ark. Give Sallah a real purpose this time, a reason for being on-screen in Dial of Destiny beyond looking dumb.

Don’t Try to Pass The Torch Again

Mutt (Shia LaBeouf) is bad; there’s only one Indiana Jones. Let him be him. While they teased handing off the whip at the end of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, they wisely chickened out of sticking to this decision. But, it’s not just about the fact that almost no one liked Mutt as a character. It’s about the fact that no one can replace Indiana Jones. The character is so intertwined with Harrison Ford’s DNA that no one can really fill the shoes appropriately.

All this to say, why bother even trying? If Hollywood demands that the show must go on with a new actor, close out the series with Harrison Ford comfortably rather than have him try and train someone else to carry his legacy to a new generation.

A Plot Fleshed Out With Side Characters

Indiana Jones has seen his fair share of sidekicks over the years. Willie (Kate Capshaw) is not great, Marion (Karen Allen) is amazing and teasing a return, Sallah is amazing in one movie then goofy in another, the one that calls him “Jones-y” a lot is awful, and Henry Jones Sr. (Sean Connery) works well enough. Indy needs some good side characters to go along with him. People who are competent in their own right and feel useful. If you look at the bad ones, they all feel pretty useless in changing the direction of the movie significantly. Indiana Jones movies don’t really need characters devoted to cheap humor.

What it needs most of all is well-written characters, not lazy comic relief. The trailer shows a woman who is revealed to be Indiana Jones’ goddaughter which holds the potential to see her as an explorer in her own right. Someone to assist Indy rather than be a liability for him to save at some point.

There’s a lot more to do when you have characters who have a personal stake in the plot of the movie. When you compare Willie to Elsa (Alison Doody), Willie is sort of along for the ride whereas Elsa would be hunting for the Holy Grail regardless of Indiana Jones’ existence. She is an intelligent historian who elevates the stakes and plays a pretty vital role in the finale. More real players in the game is a move that serves to make the story seem more plausible than just having one person who knows everything.

Respect for Indiana Jones And His Age

     Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Look, everyone knows Harrison Ford isn’t getting any younger these days and that’s quite alright. De-aging a character is one thing, but the mistake here would be to use his age as a joke. “The old man is stupid and slow” is not a way to empathize with your main character. Logan, James Mangold’s previous work, by comparison, was a movie that embraced the characters’ age and used it as a central plot theme rather than the punchline to a rather cheap joke. This is something Mangold has already addressed which is a great sign. Pixar’s Up does something similar where it finds value in age and shows how someone might be old, but that doesn’t mean they’re useless.

There’s an opportunity instead here in Dial of Destiny for an Indy that’s wiser, more thoughtful perhaps, with a few more tricks up his sleeve. Perhaps age has taught him not to replace a solid gold idol with a sandbag that weighs three pounds on a good day.