How to watch the Indiana Jones movies in order, including Dial of Destiny

With Indiana Jones 5 hitting screens worldwide this week, here’s how to watch the Indy movies in release order, as well as in chronological order.

Indiana Jones 5 – aka Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny – recently premiered in Cannes (you can read our three-star review of the movie here) while it hits UK screens tomorrow, and debuts elsewhere through the week.

The bulk of the film takes place in 1969, but Dial of Destiny also features a de-aged Harrison Ford for an extended flashback sequence in 1944. Which isn’t the first time the Indiana Jones movies have flipped back-and-forth in time.

So, here’s how to watch the movies, first in release order by year, then in chronological order so you can see the character age – from teenager to 80.

How to watch the Indiana Jones movies in release order

Celebrating the success of Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind while holidaying together, George Lucas pitched Steven Spielberg an idea about an archeologist adventurer.

This would be their James Bond, and hark back to the movie serials of their youth, with a cliffhanger every few minutes. And so one of the great movie franchises was born.

There have been four Indiana Jones movies released thus far, as well as a TV series, comics, books, and games that complicate the timeline. But ignoring those spinoffs in different media, this is how to watch the Indy movies in release order:

• Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
• Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)

How to watch the Indy movies in chronological order

If you want to watch the Indiana Jones movies in chronological order, it gets a bit more complicated. One of the sequels (Temple of Doom) is actually a prequel (to Raiders of the Lost Ark).

Another kicks off during the hero’s childhood (Last Crusade), with River Phoenix cast as teenage Indiana Jones, and Sean Connery playing his father Henry Jones Sr. While the new film plays out in two timelines. So, here’s how to watch the movies in chronological order:

• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (opening sequence)
• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
• Raiders of the Lost Ark
• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (rest of movie)
• Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (opening sequence)
• Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (flashback to Basil Shaw’s home)
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
• Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (rest of movie)

There’s one more addition to be made to this list, but it’s a serious spoiler for the new movie, so we’ll wait until Indy 5 is on general release…

For more Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny info, check out the below articles:

Indiana Jones 5 review | Number of Indy movies | Helena Shaw explained | Soundtrack and songs | Indiana Jones streaming details | Dial of Destiny runtime | Filming locations | How to watch the Indy movies in order | Is Short Round in Dial of Destiny? | Ranking the Indiana Jones movies | Villain explained | Does Dial of Destiny have a post-credits scene?