According to the director of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, James Mangold, work on the movie is practically done and there are no plans of shooting an alternative ending.

Mangold took to Twitter to deny reports that the movie is getting a new ending after initial test screenings. These started circulating across multiple outlets after long-time franchise composer, John Williams, said that production has ”another ending to shoot” in a speech at the Teatro alla Scalla in Milano, Italy. This led to speculation that an alternative ending was in the works, suggesting that fans who attended test screenings weren’t satisfied with how the movie portrays the ending of Harison Ford’s Indiana Jones adventure. In his tweet he shuts down these reports, claiming that the movie was  "99% finished", apart from some VFX work still being done and an MPAA rating underway.

When asked about the comments Williams made, Mangold responded in a separate tweet saying that John was mistaken and maybe read Twitter too much. He also doubled down on his claims saying there were never plans for shooting a new ending in which Indy is being erased and replaced. Noting that those speculations were just fewer dreams of ”wounded folks angry about other films I did not make” and no test screenings had even happened when those speculations started circulating on Twitter last month.

In a response to a fan asking how much work has Williams done for the upcoming movie, Mangold said that John has written and conducted about "two hours of brilliant music" with 60+ cues. The upcoming release isn't the first time the brilliant 90-year-old composer has written music for the Indiana Jones franchise. Williams first contributed by composing ”The Raider’s March” in 1981 for Raiders of the Lost Ark and would go on to reprise his role for the next four installments of the franchise.

So I took a b-day break from trolls. But it seems I gotta once again say.. We’re not shooting & never shot any new scenes or "alt endings". Our film is 99% finished, getting rated by MPAA & VFX being completed. Happy Holidays!

— Mangold (@mang0ld) December 19, 2022

It's understandable why fans are worried, considering that filming for Dial of Destiny began in June 2021 and only recently finished after numerous delays. This is the last time viewers see Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones, before hanging up the fedora and retiring from his role as the iconic archeology professor.

This installment of the franchise will picture Indiana Jones facing off against Mads Mikkelsen in the role of a former Nazi soldier called Jurgen Voller, who is involved with the moon landing program at NASA. The character is inspired by a real-life Nazi called Wernher von Braun, who fled to the United States as an engineer. While most of the endeavor takes place in Manhattan in the 1960s, one scene reportedly employs technology to de-age Ford into a 1944 version of Indiana Jones. Director Mangold said that he wanted to give the audience the chance to experience the picturesque feeling that George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg helped bring to previous generations.

The first trailer for the movie already hinted that this installment of the adventure might have a similar tone to the third film in the franchise, with matching doses of action, humor, and emotion. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ends with Ford's character riding off into the sunset, but it’s unlikely that the upcoming movie will feature the same scenario. It might be a fitting last scene for a hero with so many adventures, but we’re going to have to wait and see how Mangold’s film bids farewell to the iconic character. Killing Ford’s hero should be out of the question, considering that each of the previous installments ends on an uplifting note.

With Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny scheduled to premiere in theaters on June 30, we are still 7 months away from having this question answered.