John Rhys-Davies has criticised the most recent Indiana Jones sequel, in which he reprised his decades-old role as the side character Sallah.

The 82-year-old Welshman, also known for playing Gimli in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, played an associate of Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) in Steven Spielberg’s 1981 classic Raiders of the Lost Ark, reprising the role in 2023 for the James Mangold-directed Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

Dial of Destiny received lukewarm reviews from critics, and due to its huge budget – a reported gross of $419m – is considered a box office bomb, despite making $384m in ticket sales.

Speaking to the web-based entertainment show Off/Frame, Rhys Davies admitted he was “disappointed” with the film, and said that many scenes featuring his character had been cut from the final edit.

He argued that Dial of Destiny was intended as a “nostalgia film”, but had devoted too much focus to new characters. “They filled the cast up with people we had never met before – so there can be no nostalgia, really,” he said.

While Ford and Rhys-Davies returned alongside Raiders star Karen Allen, the film also introduced new characters played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, and Toby Jones.

Rhys-Davies continued: “I found that the scenes I’d been promised in the thing were cut immediately [after] I signed the contract. I think it’s a disappointing film. What is tragic, really, is… [Antonio] Banderas. The most exciting actor of his generation… but what a terrible thing to do to him.”

Back in January, Kathleen Kennedy, then the president of LucasFilm, seemed to suggest that the Indiana Jones franchise was on hiatus.

“I don’t think Indy will ever be done, but I don’t think anybody is interested right now in exploring it,” the producer told Deadline, when asked about the possibility of a reboot.

Ford gave his own thoughts on Dial of Destiny’s underperformance at the box office back in 2025, telling the Wall Street Journal: “S*** happens.

“I was really the one who felt there was another story to tell. When [Indy] had suffered the consequences of the life that he had to live, I wanted one more chance to pick him up and shake the dust off his ass and stick him out there, bereft of some of his vigour, to see what happened.

“I’m still happy I made that movie,” he concluded.