Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny picks up the story of the legendary archeology professor in 1969. But during a flashback to 1944, Jones and colleague Basil Shaw are attempting to take the Lance of Longinus from the Nazis. Basil is central to the film’s plot and becomes obsessed with its MacGuffin, Archimedes’s Dial. It is mentioned frequently that he was a long-time friend of Indiana. But was Basil Shaw in any previous Indiana Jones films?
With the Indiana Jones series now spanning five feature films, many different characters have come and gone. Some have even appeared in multiple movies.
Therefore, it’s understandable that audiences may wonder if Basil Shaw has been a part of previous Indy adventures. After all, Sallah (John Rhys-Davies) was previously featured in Raiders of the Lost Ark and Last Crusade and he returns in Dial of Destiny to aid Indiana.
Basil’s daughter Helena is also a central part of Dial of Destiny. As Indy’s god-daughter, she reaches out to him about a possible journey to find Archimedes’s Dial which is how the key events of the film begin.
Was Basil Shaw in previous Indiana Jones films?
The character of Basil Shaw was not in any previous Indiana Jones films. The character is first introduced in Dial of Destiny as Indiana’s friend and colleague during World War II. He is portrayed by Toby Jones.
In 1944, Basil and Indiana escaped the Nazis in possession of Archimedes’s Dial. It is later explained during the movie that Basil became obsessed with the Dial. He believed it could direct its holder to fissures in time, thus allowing time travel.
The work Basil conducted on the Dial also lead to several revelations that help advance the plot of Dial of Destiny. It is also revealed that Indiana took the Dial from Basil when he became too obsessed with it and vowed to destroy it.
Instead, Indy locked it away in the storeroom at Hunter College. However, this was just one half of the Dial which is actually formed of two separate parts.
For the Dial to function, both parts must be combined. Much of the film focusses on the search for the second part of the Dial.
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