Indiana Jones 5 Includes 7 Marvel Connections Before Harrison Ford’s MCU Debut

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is Harrison Ford’s last appearance in the franchise before joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the movie has a lot of connections between the two franchises. Ford made the decision to return as Indiana Jones for a fifth and final movie years ago as part of his trend of returning to his existing franchises. Now that he has run through most of them, the actor has turned his focus toward joining the biggest one in Hollywood. This has come through the confirmation that Harrison Ford will play Thunderbolt Ross in the MCU.

Thanks to Disney owning both Lucasfilm and Marvel Studios, the studio synergy finding a way to keep Harrison Ford around even after he’s concluded playing Han Solo and Indiana Jones is understandable. It might seem like the two franchises have nothing in common, even as Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny‘s ending incorporated time travel amid the franchise’s push into more fictional ideas. As audiences wait to see Harrison Ford’s MCU debut in Captain America: Brave New World, there are a surprising number of connections between Indiana Jones 5 and Marvel’s movie history.

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7 Thomas Kretschmann Played Strucker In Avengers: Age of Ultron

He plays Colonel Weber in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

MCU viewers are likely to recognize Thomas Kretschmann when he appears early on Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. This is because he played Baron von Strucker in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Kretschmann made his MCU debut as the Hydra villain in Captain America: The Winter Soldier‘s post-credits scene, which set him up to be a major force in the cinematic universe. Instead, the actor reprised his role in Avengers: Age of Ultron, where Strucker was surprisingly killed early on by the sentient A.I. villain.

Kretschmann’s role in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny does not do him much better. He is part of the movie’s opening flashback scene playing Colonel Weber, the Nazi leader that Voller is working with. Weber interrogates Basil Shaw during the scene before later finding him and Indiana Jones on top of the train. This is where Indiana disarms the Nazi and Shaw shoots him. He dies after Indiana Jones kicks him off the moving train.

6 Toby Jones Played Arnim Zola In Captain America Movies

He plays Basil Shaw in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Basil Shaw’s actor Toby Jones is also a familiar presence for MCU observers. The actor played a pivotal role as Arnim Zola in Captain America: The First Avenger. He worked for Hydra and Red Skull, attempting to harness the power of the Tesseract for their evil doing. Zola decided to work for SHIELD afterward and was thought to have died sometime after the movie’s events. However, he downloaded his consciousness into a computer before passing and continued to help Hydra’s sleeper agents overtake SHIELD. Captain America: The Winter Soldier marked the destruction of these computers and the end of Zola.

After playing an evil German scientist in the MCU, Toby Jones’ role as Basil Shaw in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny lets him play against type. He is a fellow archeologist and close friend of Indiana Jones. Basil works directly against the Nazis and wants to ensure the Antikythera never falls into their hands. The majority of Toby Jones’ appearance in Indiana Jones 5 comes during the opening flashback sequence, as Basil passes away between then and the main story set in 1969.

5 Mads Mikkelsen Played Kaecilius In Doctor Strange

He plays Jürgen Voller in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Mads Mikkelsen is known for playing villains, and that does not change whether his MCU or Indiana Jones roles are taken into account. The talented actor joined the Marvel franchise with 2016’s Doctor Strange where he played Kaecilius, an evil sorcerer attempting to bring on Dormammu’s reign over Earth. This proved to be a one-and-done appearance for Mikkelsen in the MCU, as Kaecilius is defeated and taken by Dormammu in Doctor Strange‘s ending.

The actor similarly gets the main villain role in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny as Doctor Jürgen Voller. The Nazi wants to acquire the Antikythera so he can travel back in time, kill Adolf Hitler, and take his spot leading Germany. Voller is ultimately successful in getting the time-traveling device, but they use it incorrectly, sending them thousands of years before Hitler’s rise. A Nazi doctor and sorcerer might not have a lot in common, but Mikkelsen grounds both villains with menacing performances.

4 Olivier Richters Played Ursa Major In Black Widow

He plays Hauke in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Olivier Richter’s appearance in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny makes him one of the movie’s largest cast members, but his Marvel connection is small enough to possibly have missed or forgotten about. This is because Richter played the role of Ursa Major in Black Widow. The 2021 MCU movie saw the 7’2 bodybuilder play a Russian prisoner who has his arm snapped during an arm wrestling match with Red Guardian. Despite the small amount of screen time received, Richter’s role as Ursa Major could become significant given his X-Men connections.

Richter gets an increased role in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny by playing Hauke. He is one of the Germans working for Voller in the main story, serving as the doctor’s muscle. Unfortunately for Richter, Hauke meets a worse fate than Ursa Major’s snapped arm. He is killed in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny after Teddy handcuffs him in the water, resulting in him drowning.

3 Boyd Holbrook Played Donald Pierce In Logan

He plays Klaber in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Boyd Holbrook has not appeared in the MCU, but he has a different Marvel connection that is still relevant. Holbrook delivered a memorable turn as Donald Pierce in 2017’s Logan. The cybernetically-enhanced leader of The Reavers played a pivotal role in the movie, including unleashing X-24 upon the world. The evil charisma displayed throughout the movie brought a great layer to Holbrook’s character. However, Pierce is killed during Logan‘s ending by a group of mutant children.

Holbrook plays another villain in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny thanks to his role as Klaber. He is the right-hand man for Voller who is equally as ruthless as Pierce proved to be at times. The antagonistic role made Holbrook a natural fit, with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny giving the actor several opportunities to put his scene-stealing abilities to use. Klaber is present throughout the movie until his eventual death during the Siege of Syracuse.

2 James Mangold Directed Two Wolverine Movies

He directed Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

There is a major Marvel connection behind the camera for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny thanks to James Mangold. The director has a great filmography filled with star-studded dramas, but his biggest movies financially came with Marvel and the X-Men franchise. Mangold joined the series to helm The Wolverine and give Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine a better second solo movie. The partnership went so well that he returned to direct Logan and give Jackman a proper sendoff from the role. That was before news that his Wolverine will be back in Deadpool 3.

While Steven Spielberg was originally planning on directing the fifth Indiana Jones movie just as he did with the previous four, his schedule got too busy to make it work. This led to Spielberg endorsing Mangold as the right creative mind to handle the final chapter of Indiana Jones’ story. Although the movie did not have as much critical or financial success as expected, it has not derailed Mangold’s future. There are no more Marvel movies on the horizon for him, but he is directing a Star Wars movie and Swamp Thing for James Gunn’s DC Universe.

1 Harrison Ford Is Joining The MCU In Captain America 4

Ford is becoming Thunderbolt Ross after Indiana Jones

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is the last time Harrison Ford will play the iconic archeologist, as he’s now turned his focus to joining the MCU. Following the passing of William Hurt, Marvel Studios made the decision to recast Thunderbolt Ross a.k.a. Red Hulk to keep future plans intact. That led Marvel to look no further than Harrison Ford, the man who has headlined two other major franchises Disney now owns. It has been confirmed that Ford will make his MCU debut as Thunderbolt Ross in Captain America: Brave New World before returning rather quickly in Thunderbolts​​​​​.

Playing the MCU’s new president gives Harrison Ford’s Marvel role a link to one of his other famous roles, but it also positions him to play a very different character than Indiana Jones. Thunderbolt Ross is a villain for Marvel and repeatedly opposes superheroes. Ford has largely made his career playing good guys and heroes, such as Indiana Jones. Now that his time with the iconic hat and whip is done, his MCU future could signal a bigger career shift after Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.