The fifth and final installment of the Indiana Jones franchise, “Dial of Destiny,” finally swung its way into theaters late last month.
While series stars such as Harrison Ford and John Rhys-Davies came back for large portion of the action-adventure flick, one returning alum only had a sliver of time on the silver screen.
Karen Allen — who portrays Indy’s longtime love Marion Ravenwood — made a quick, blink-and-you-missed-it cameo appearance at the end of the 154-minutes-long movie.
The 71-year-old got candid with the Hollywood Reporter recently and expressed her disappointment with her lack of camera time.
She previously had larger parts in 2008’s “Crystal Skull” and 1981’s “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”
Allen admitted that when she read the script for “Dial of Destiny,” she had expected that she would play a major role.
However, she noted that it “was just not the direction” that the producers decided to go with.
In the franchise, Marion and Indy have a son together, named Mutt Williams. Mutt was played by Shia LaBeouf in “Crystal Skull” and did not return for the latest film in the series.
LaBeouf’s character actually died before the movie’s events (which occurred in the late 1960s).
Allen explained how the filmmakers had issues with the story because LaBeouf, 37, was not making a comeback, and they had the character killed off-screen in the Vietnam War. This twist was in the narrative to “put a wedge between Marion and Indy.”
“I mean, you could have knocked me over with a feather when I read it. But I was really happy that they came back together in the end,” she added.
The “Glass Menagerie” star revealed that when Steven Spielberg was on deck to direct “Dial of Destiny,” Marion “was much more involved in the story.”
The “Jurassic Park” director, 76, had left the project and James Mangold signed on. But Spielberg stayed on as an executive producer.
“Steven and I had spoken after he decided he was gonna step down as director,” Allen said.”He said to me, ‘You’re gonna love working with James Mangold.’ And I said, ‘Oh, great.’ ”
She continued: “So I knew James had hired new writers and that there was going to be a whole new approach with a new director and new writers, but I was really going into the unknown.”
Allen also dished that when she was filming “Crystal Skull” 15 years ago, there was already talk of having a fifth installment of the series.
She knew that there was going to be a final conclusion, and she always “imagined” that she would be in it.
“I am [in ‘Dial of Destiny’] — but it’s just in a slightly different way than I had imagined,” she sighed.
However, she loved working with Ford, 80, again and was excited to reunite with the “Air Force One” actor.
“When we actually had a moment to work together, reminiscing is probably not a part of what we do together. We just had a nice conversation to feel our way back into the characters and the circumstances of the characters,” she said.
In the film, Indy and Marion separated after losing Mutt, which plunged the archaeologist into a deep depression. By the end of the feature, the two have reconciled and share a long and passionate kiss.
