20 facts you might not know about 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'

When George Lucas first pitched Raiders of the Lost Ark to his buddy Spielberg, they had intended for it to be a trilogy. While at times Spielberg was on the fence about it, especially after Temple of Doom was received in a relatively lukewarm fashion, he decided to finish the trilogy as he had intended. To do so, though, he had to drop out of directing both Big and Rain Man.

Spielberg joined those who didn’t necessarily love Temple of Doom. Both he and Lucas have called the movie needlessly dark and consider it their “divorce movie,” as they entered it having watched their respective marriages dissolve (h/t Empire). With the third film in the trilogy, Spielberg, who funnily enough met future wife Kate Capshaw on Temple of Doom, wanted to go back to the energy and fun of Raiders.

The initial idea for the third Indiana Jones film was a haunted house movie, which was Lucas’ idea. Romancing the Stone screenwriter Diane Thomas even penned a script. However, having just made Poltergeist, Spielberg declined the idea.

After the haunted house idea was nixed, Lucas wrote a treatment for Indiana Jones and the Monkey King. That script was written by Chris Columbus, who had broken through with the screenplay for Gremlins, which Spielberg had produced. Ultimately, Spielberg and Lucas didn’t like the script that came from that.

Struggling to get a story percolating, Spielberg suggested Indiana’s father be central to the story. Lucas was wary because he wanted to do a movie centered on the Holy Grail. Eventually, both got what they wanted. The Holy Grail is at the center of Last Crusade, but so is the relationship between Indiana and Henry Jones.

After the story was figured out, Menno Meyjes, who wrote Spielberg’s The Color Purple and Empire of the Sun, got the first crack at Last Crusade. He ended up receiving a "story by" credit alongside Lucas. Innerspace screenwriter Jeffrey Boam tackled it next and ended up the credited writer. Spielberg did have acclaimed playwright Tom Stoppard do a pass (under the pseudonym Barry Watson) because, when you’re Spielberg, you can make stuff like that happen.

Last Crusade opens with a prologue featuring Indiana Jones as a kid. River Phoenix plays him in this flashback. Phoenix had played Ford’s character’s son in The Mosquito Coast, and he suggested the casting, feeling that Phoenix looked like Ford when he was a kid. At least, that’s what Spielberg said in the behind-the-scenes documentary.

Lucas’s notes on Henry Jones describe the character as a Laurence Olivier type. He was not actually in the running. Gregory Peck was considered for the role, though. Ultimately, Spielberg was a fan of Sean Connery’s work as James Bond and wanted him for the part.

While Olivier was too old to play Henry Jones, they did want the legendary actor to play the Grail Knight at the movie's end. Unfortunately, Olivier fell ill and died in 1989 — the same year the film came out.

At first, Connery wasn’t sure about taking on the role of Henry. He was only 12 years older than Ford. Eventually, he took the part, but he also provided a lot of thoughts on what he wanted the character to be. This included suggesting lines and jokes that he thought would be good for Henry.

Julian Glover was cast as American businessman Walter Donovan, who ends up being the movie's villain. Glover was British, so he had to adopt an American accent for the movie. While he likely tried his best, Glover has said he wasn’t happy with his accent work in the film.

Part of recapturing the magic of Raiders of the Lost Ark? Getting the band back together. Marcus Brody and Sallah were included in Last Crusade after not being in Temple of Doom to try and hearken back to the beloved original.

In Last Crusade, we find out that Henry Jones Jr., a.k.a. Indiana, took his moniker from the family dog. This is in reference to the fact that Lucas named the character after his Alaskan malamute, Indiana. Additionally, young Indiana Jones hits himself in the chin with his whip to explain a scar Ford has on his chin from a car accident in real life.

Mechanical effects supervisor George Gibbs called Last Crusade the toughest job of his career. To be fair, he partially did that to himself. Gibbs went to a museum with the plan to rent a French World War I tank for the movie. Then, he got the idea to build one himself. The tank was built and then flown to Almeria, Spain, for filming.

They had real seagulls on set for the scene where seagulls strike the German plane. They wouldn’t fly on command, though, so doves were brought in and used. Also used in the movie? Thousands of snakes and 1,000 “disease-free” rats. It’s a little disconcerting that the “disease-free” part was included in the description, isn’t it? However, 1,000 mechanical rats were also used in the film for the scene where the rats are set on fire.

Spielberg and Lucas got everything they wanted out of Last Crusade. The movie made $197.1 million domestically and $474.1 million worldwide. In the United States, it finished second to Batman in the box office, but it was the No. 1 movie worldwide. On top of that, it has an 88 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Last Crusade was up for three Oscars, winning one for Best Sound Editing. Connery also got a nomination at the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs for Best Supporting Actor but did not win either award.

Lucas apparently liked the prologue to the film. After the movie, Lucas produced The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, a TV show that aired briefly on ABC in the early 1990s. Sean Patrick Flanery stepped into the round of Indiana Jones, replacing Phoenix.

The movie's climax is shot in Petra, Jordan, which is a smart choice as it is a beautiful setting. Reportedly, since Last Crusade came out, over one million tourists per year started to visit Petra. Shops, hotels, and the Jordan tourism board all play it up. A Middle Eastern version of “The Onion” called “The Pan-Arabia Enquirer” once went so far as to write a story saying Jordan had officially renamed Petra “That Place from Indiana Jones.”

Spielberg finished off the trilogy, but he didn’t stop there. In 2008, he returned to the world of Indiana Jones, making Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which was not as well received as Last Crusade. A fifth movie is planned for 2023, though James Mangold is stepping in for Spielberg as the director.