The Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny trailer is pointing towards time travel shenanigans

The new Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny trailer is here and all eyes are on a de-aged Harrison Ford. A story set across two different time periods with Young Indy and Old Indy would be the logical answer, yet many are jumping to the conclusion that time travel is coming to the franchise.

"Maybe the 'dial of destiny' is something like the [Ancient Greek device] Antikythera Mechanism? The apparent time jumps could be alternative time lines, time travel, or something else?" one posited on Twitter. "I reckon the dial of destiny does time travel and he's going to Endgame his way through the old movies," reckoned another.

One said the Dial of Destiny title "definitely sounds like time travel" but "hopes it’s done right." Another theory on Twitter suggests it "refers to either time travel or more likely a dial that can make someone age back and become young again, hence all of the de aged Harrison Ford we’re getting."

Indiana Jones, famously, has never been one to shy away from the occult – or the downright weird. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was widely panned for bringing aliens into the franchise and Indy himself surviving a nuclear blast by hiding inside a fridge. Time travel, then, feels like one step back on that scale – but is still proving divisive.

Director James Mangold, for his part, has recently responded on social media to a recent ‘plot leak’ which mentions time travel. Mangold said it was "not true" and that no screenings of the movie have taken place.

Unless someone invents time travel, we’ll have to wait a while to see if the rumors and leaks are true. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, starring Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and Antonio Banderas, is set to hit theaters on June 30, 2023. For more, here are all the new Disney movies coming your way across the next few years.

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.