Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Is Smart to Address Marion

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Is Smart to Address Marion



The Indiana Jones franchise has had its fair share of memorable side characters over the last few decades, many for the right reasons, and some for the wrong. Karen Allen’s Marion Ravenwood belongs to the former camp, being widely regarded as one of the best supporting acts in franchise history, with her presence in Raiders of the Lost Ark, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and even her very brief cameo in Dial of Destiny all being highlights of their respective movies.




While Indiana Jones and the Great Circle tells its own standalone story, it has plenty of ties to the movies that are set around it. This includes some major references to Marion Ravenwood, one of which finally answers a burning question fans have been asking since the 1980s.

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Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Was Right to Address Marion and Indy’s Relationship

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Answers a Long-Standing Series Question

At the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indy and Marion walk off into the sunset, their love for one another rekindled and their intense adventure behind them. While Temple of Doom was the next movie to release, it’s actually a prequel, meaning Marion’s absence made complete sense. But when The Last Crusade hit theaters in 1989, Marion Ravenwood was still nowhere to be seen.


Marion’s sudden disappearance was questioned by fans for almost two decades, right up until her return in 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. Here, it was revealed that Indy walked out on Marion just a week before their wedding. But in typical Indy fashion, rather than give a proper reason behind his abandonment, he deflects with humor and vague quips.

It’s never been confirmed exactly why Indy left Marion before their wedding, that is until now. In Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, it’s finally revealed that Indy left Marion in order to go on a sudden expedition to Siwa, where he found an ancient cat mummy. After a few months, Indy returned home, but Marion wasn’t there to greet him.

Based on what Indiana Jones and the Great Circle tells fans, it seems as though Indy simply wasn’t ready to settle down and abandon his life of adventuring, and rather than confront that issue head-on, he decided to just run away. While it’s great to finally have an official explanation, the more interesting aspect is that it allows Indiana Jones and the Great Circle to begin its story with a more emotionally vulnerable protagonist than fans are used to.


Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Uses Marion’s Absence to Deliver a More Complex Indy

With the fate of Marion and Indy’s relationship being revealed within the game’s opening hour, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle hits the ground running with its exploration of Indy’s character. When the Siwa cat mummy is stolen from Marshall College, Indy immediately starts packing for a trip to retrieve it. In his briefcase, he finds a note from Marion written before the two separated.

The note clearly affects Indy’s emotional state, and his friend and colleague Marcus attempts to discuss the real reason Indy seems so scatterbrained. Indy deflects, and upon being told he can’t just keep running away from his problems, Indy retorts “Watch me,” and leaves for the Vatican. Putting Indy in a vulnerable, fallible spot adds quite a bit of depth to his character right out of the gate. That vulnerability continues to crop up throughout the story, often being used as a weapon by antagonist Emmerich Voss.

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