An aged Harrison Ford picks up the whip and dons the fedora one last time in the first teaser trailer for Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny, but suffice it to say that this revival has a high standard to live up to. Unfortunately, between Lucasfilm’s track record under Disney and a number of red flags already cropping up in this first look, I’m not at all looking forward to the movie when it releases next June.

To say that I love Indiana Jones is an understatement – it was one of those few franchises that defined my experience with media as a child, and growing up I would watch the films time and time again, sink hours into the LEGO Indiana Jones videogames, as well as sitting and playing with my actual LEGO sets, and I even had a cute little costume that I practically lived in until I got too big for it. Still, Indy wasn’t just some childhood obsession; revisiting the films years later gave me an incredible newfound appreciation for them – so much so that The Last Crusade, despite the few flaws it might have, has solidified its position as my favourite movie of all time, and I’ve admittedly watched it far too many times to even count. Even the frequently-maligned Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, with all the increasingly batshit crazy creative decisions that crop up as the film goes on, still offers Indy in all his due glory despite Ford’s age at the time, and it closes the book nicely on the character with a happy ending – even if I don’t think Spielberg and Lucas ever had a chance of topping Crusade‘s closing scene, with Indy and his allies riding off into the sunset for adventures untold.

The idea of a fifth Indiana Jones feature had been circulating for years, especially since Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm in 2012, but as time went on and the project continued to pass hands, take different forms, and still never really materialise, I started to doubt whether we’d really see another Indy adventure on the big screen – at least, certainly not one starring Harrison Ford, given that the actor was coming up on his eighties at this point. Nevertheless, the movie started to take shape with Logan‘s James Mangold coming aboard to write and direct, under Spielberg’s guidance as executive producer, and that at least showed a little promise that the film might actually be in the right hands; an extremely important thing to consider in the current entertainment climate, especially under Disney-owned Lucasfilm. Andor, which just wrapped up a week ago, might have been one of the best things to come out of Star Wars in its entirety (you can read my review here), but between the disastrous Obi-Wan Kenobi and The Book of Boba Fett, as well as a slew of mediocre animated releases in the last year or so, my confidence in the studio has reached an all-time low.

Regardless, with all sorts of rumours floating about and numerous set photos coming my way, today’s teaser trailer was my first chance to see something tangible from the film and get some idea of what we’re in for come the June 30th release date, and unfortunately it’s not looking good. It’s not outwardly offensive, with lined up shots of treasure hunting, classic Indiana Jones action setpieces, and even a look at a flashback sequence involving a decently de-aged Harrison Ford all seeming like promising prospects on paper. However, reading between the lines tells me something a little more unsavoury is afoot – the elderly, tired Indy claiming he’s given up on adventuring, the return of Sallah to tug on those feelings of nostalgia, and the sharp, sassy female sidekick played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge all bear the hallmarks of what drove the Star Wars sequel trilogy into the ground. Add in the awkwardly applied computer-generated face of Harrison Ford during some of the action scene snippets, and the painfully unfunny stinger at the end, and it looks like we’re in for yet another stinker from the Disney-Lucasfilm sludge pipe.

I wouldn’t usually be so pessimistic, especially when it comes to one of my favourite franchises of all time, but the reveal of the unsightly Dial of Destiny subtitle seems to be a confirmation of an age old leak that suggests this movie will feature time travel as a key element of the story; something I was desperate to not believe given how much I disliked the use of interdimensional aliens as a plot point in the previous film. I’ll avoid giving away too much should these leaks prove to be true, but they also suggest that it will have dire consequences for the entire Indiana Jones franchise, as well as the character himself – which could very much make this movie even more egregious than the godawful Rise of Skywalker. With that said, leaks do need to be taken with a pinch of salt regardless, and although I’m keeping my expectations excruciatingly low, The Dial of Destiny may yet surprise me if some of the more worrying aspects of the plot are handled right, so keep an eye out for my review when the film releases next June, because although it might have me a little worried, I’m sure as shit excited to see how it holds up to scrutiny.