One of the funniest lines I’ve ever heard in a movie were uttered in “Raiders of the Lost Ark” when Sallah (Johnathan Rhys-Davies) says “Oh my friends! I am so pleased you are not dead”. The line was great, but what made it even better was the timing and delivery of Johnathan Rhys-Davies. And who can forget “Asps. Very dangerous. You go first”!
Sallah returned (rightfully so) in Last Crusade, and with his huge success with the recent Lord of the Rings movies, it was obvious that Johnathan Rhys-Davies would be asked to return for indian Jones 4 right? Right?!?! Nope. He’s not going to be there. The good folks over at Dark Horizons give us this:
“Seems he has not been asked to be in Indy 4 or even approached about it. From the little information he had about the film he had been told through a third party that the character of Salah had been written out of Indy 4 in favour of a younger cast.”
This is sad news to me. Tons of movies have great lead characters… but the thing that often separates “good” movies from “CLASSIC” movies is a rich supporting cast. The Indiana Jones series has always had a beautifully eclectic supporting cast around Ford, and Sallah was the best of them. EASILY the best of them.
Now please don’t get me wrong… I’m not saying “This will suck without Rhys-Davies” or “Without Sallah, it’s not Indiana Jones” or any stupid nonsense like that. All I’m saying is that I’m sad he’s not going to be there. He was one of the key elements that made the Indy world so special to me. Damn.
