Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny director James Mangold explains the meaning of that final hat shot

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

Harrison Ford has been adamant — including in EW's own cover story — that he's saying goodbye to Indiana Jones with the fifth film in the franchise, Dial of Destiny. Fans might be surprised, then, to learn that the film ends with a shot of his hand plucking Indy's beloved fedora off of a clothesline.

So, with Hollywood's penchant for remakes, reboots, and sequels, are we meant to read more into that final shot? According to the film's director, James Mangold, the scene is nothing more than a tip of the proverbial hat to the fact that, though we as an audience may not accompany Ford's Indy on any more adventures, the character himself is never "giving up."

"I don't think he'll ever stop digging," Mangold explains to EW. "And when he takes the hat off the clothesline, I think it's because, first of all, you shouldn't put hats on clotheslines. And second of all, no, I don't think he's done. I think that an ending doesn't mean that the characters never move again in their lives. It just means that you feel that you've entered a state of grace with their story."

Lucasfilm Ltd. Harrison Ford in 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny'

Mangold even has some thoughts about where the daring archaeologist goes from here.

"I think he'll wake up tomorrow and want to do something. But whether he's going into battling Nazis through time portals again, I don't think so," he says. "But I could really imagine him and Marion going on a road trip to some Inca dig or to some dig in Montana or North Dakota and renting a cabin. And I could see him really enjoying his life as a retired archeologist."

These things are easy to imagine, the helmer says, because "Indy and Harrison are so close together, and Harrison will never retire, and I don't think Indy will [either]."

He clarifies, "He retires as a teacher [in Dial of Destiny], but I don't think he will retire from being an obsessive learner, thinker about the past and the future, and science and mankind. I think that the second he stops thinking about that, I think it's game over."

Dial of Destiny — which also stars Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, John Rhys-Davies, Toby Jones, Boyd Holbrook, Shaunette Renée Wilson, and more — is now playing in theaters. For more on the film and Ford's last hurrah as the whip-cracking archaeologist, read EW's cover story.

Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.

Related content:

• Phoebe Waller-Bridge on getting to punch Indiana Jones in Dial of Destiny: 'It was glorious'

• Turning back the Dial: Harrison Ford examines the legacy of Indiana Jones as he caps a historic run

• Harrison Ford gives 'em hell as Indiana Jones in exclusive Dial of Destiny photos

• Why Harrison Ford never uses the word 'hero' to describe his characters