'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny': The best Easter eggs and callbacks you might have missed

Brendan Morrow, Staff Writer

July 4, 2023 at 5:16 AM·5 min read

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Disney / Lucasfilm

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The "Indiana Jones" series' final installment dials up the nostalgia. "Dial of Destiny," Harrison Ford's farewell to Indy, isn't overly preoccupied with franchise Easter eggs. But it does include at least one callback to every prior "Indiana Jones" movie, including some fun cameos and an emotional full-circle moment ending the series where it began. These are some of the best references and callbacks in the film:

A logo tradition

There was a tradition in the previous "Indiana Jones" films of fading out of the Paramount logo into the opening shot, usually into a mountain or mountain-shaped object. Now that the series is being released by Disney, "Dial of Destiny" tries to keep this going in a new way by fading out of the Lucasfilm logo into a lock — though the Paramount logo still appears at the start of the film, so it isn't totally clear why the change was necessary.

The Spear of Destiny

The artifact Indy is seeking in the opening flashback is the Lance of Longinus, the blade that drew Christ's blood. This artifact was previously featured in a 1995 comic book, "Indiana Jones and the Spear of Destiny," in which the Nazis are after the blade and Indy and his father must stop them.

Crucifixion painting

In Indiana Jones' apartment, we see the same painting of Jesus' crucifixion that was owned by his father, Henry Jones Sr. (Sean Connery), in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade." There's also a photo of Henry on the shelf next to the painting. Indy's father died off-screen between "Last Crusade" and "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." He comes up later in "Dial of Destiny" when Indy notes he's wearing his dad's watch. Above his fireplace, Indy additionally has his father's painting of the grail knight from "Last Crusade."

Like godfather, like goddaughter

Indy asks Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) why she's chasing the thing that drove her father crazy, and she replies, "Wouldn't you?" She has a point considering "Last Crusade" involved Indy chasing the Holy Grail, which his father was obsessed with finding, while consulting his diary.

It belongs in a museum!

In a flashback, Indy tells Basil Shaw (Toby Jones) that the dial belongs in a museum, the same thing he said about the crucifix at the start of "Last Crusade."

Grave robber

Helena refers to Indy as an "aging grave robber," which isn't the first time he's faced that insult. In "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," Chattar Lal tells Indy that "in Honduras, you were accused of being a grave robber rather than an archeologist." In "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," Indy and his son, Mutt Williams, also encounter a sign warning that "grave robbers will be shot," to which Indy responds, "Good thing we're not grave robbers."

The new Short Round

Short Round, Indiana Jones' sidekick played by Ke Huy Quan in "Temple of Doom," doesn't appear in "Dial of Destiny." But we get the next best thing: A new character who's remarkably similar to Short Round. Helena has her own sidekick named Teddy, who attempted to steal from her. Short Round was similarly a pickpocket who was originally trying to steal from Indy when they met.

The tragedy of Mutt Williams

"Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" strongly implied Shia LaBeouf's Mutt Williams could one day lead the franchise, even having him pick up Indy's hat at the end, and George Lucas once said he was considering having the fifth film center on Mutt. For a variety of reasons, likely including LaBeouf's legal issues and abuse allegations (and the fact that he criticized "Crystal Skull" in an interview), Mutt has died off-screen while fighting in Vietnam. But look out for a picture of him in Indy's apartment early in the film.

Bringing a whip to a gunfight

When Indy pulls out his whip in the auction scene, everyone in the room simply points their guns at him, and he has to duck and cover. It's a reversal of the iconic moment from "Raiders of the Lost Ark" when a man is preparing for a sword fight with Indy, only for Indy to quickly pull out his gun and shoot him.

Why did it have to be eels?

We get an inevitable reference to Indy's fear of snakes — only this time, he's forced to encounter eels, which are still snake-like enough to give him the heebie-jeebies.

The blood of Kali

Indy tells Helena he was forced to drink the Blood of Kali and was tortured by voodoo, both references to "Temple of Doom." In that film, Indy is forced to drink the Blood of Kali, a potion, by cultists before he falls into a trance.

'All my life'

When Indy tells Helena he has studied the Siege of Syracuse "all my life," it echoes a beat from "Last Crusade" when Indy tells Marcus Brody he has been looking for the crucifix "all my life."

The return of Sallah and his singing

John Rhys-Davies is back as Sallah, Indiana Jones' friend, for the first time since "Last Crusade," and at the end of the film, he begins singing the same song he did after Marion (Karen Allen) kissed him in "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

When he first walks in the room, Sallah can also be heard recounting how Indy and Marion were running when "suddenly, the plane exploded," referencing the events of "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

Where doesn't it hurt?

After Indy reunites with Marion in the closing scene, he kisses her wherever it doesn't hurt on her body, including her elbow. It's a callback and reversal of a scene from "Raiders" where Marion asks Indy where on his body it doesn't hurt so she can kiss him there. With that, an action-adventure franchise ends on a surprisingly tender beat before sending Indiana Jones off … for the third time.

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