Indiana Jones may have had his Cannes world premiere, but Disney saved something special for the Hollywood splash of the alleged final chapter in the franchise, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
Before light hit the projector, the pic’s 5x Oscar winning composer, John Williams, took the stage with a full orchestra to perform various movements from the movie including the main title theme and new heroine track, “Helena’s Theme:, which he wrote specifically for Phoebe Waller Bridge’s new character in the pic, Indy’s goddaughter. The surprise performance, introduced by franchise architect and Dial of Destiny EP Steven Spielberg, received a roaring standing ovation.
“We have a tradition with Indiana Jones which is that Indy has his music in all the various moves that he has, and his action scenes and comedy, and so many modes, the music is always there,” Williams told the Dolby Theatre crowd.
“The other part of the tradition is that we usually have a theme for the heroine or leading lady. In this film we have Phoebe Waller Bridge,” the composer continued.
“You’ll see the most brilliant duet between Harrison and Phoebe as they do their wonderful witty dialogue and action and comedy and jeopardy which they do so wonderfully,” said Williams.
“Phoebe will be represented musically by a lyrical piece, reminiscent of the ’40s and ’50s and old Hollywood,” said Williams, “This is ‘Helena’s Theme’. It’s all about Phoebe, not all parts of her, but a lot of it.”
Earlier on the red carpet, Harrison Ford admitted that it’s definitely his last Indiana Jones movie.
“I always wanted to do a film about Indiana Jones towards the end of his life, and Jim Mangold developed a script that got us to a point where I really had the best time making this film, it’s really been fun,” Ford told Deadline.
Waller-Bridge said that “the beautiful closing chapter” was “something I’d never imagined I’d be a part of, so every single day felt like a dream.”
Whether she’s poised to take over the lead in the franchise, the Fleabag multi-award winner retorted, “First, I ever heard of it!”
John Rhys-Davies, who plays Indy’s sidekick Sallah, was more hopeful about the future, “Do I believe great franchises like this will willing die? No.”
“Do I believe that Harrison could be tricked out of retirement to do another one? Yeah, well, there’s nothing like somebody else having a go at it to make you get out of your retirement.”
“But if I called on, I will return in my wheelchair!” said Rhys-Davies.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny cracks the whip in theaters on June 30.