Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny will reach UK theatres on Wednesday this week and one of its Hollywood directors has praised the decision to use Northumberland as the setting for its opening sequence.

The fifth installment of the famous franchise sees Harrison Ford return to his starring role as the daredevil archaeologist, with Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Mads Mikkelsen also featuring. 

North East locals were delighted to see Mr. Ford and his Hollywood crew filming in Newcastle back in 2021, with the directors also visiting Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland to film the opening sequence of the movie. 

Initially planned for 2022, the movie will officially release on Wednesday, June 28, in what will surely be the 80-year-old's last reprisal of the role. 

On the eve of the film's release to the general public, location director Duncan Broadfoot has spoken about the decision to film in Northumberland. 

He said: "When we brought our director he immediately knew that Bamburgh was the right choice.

"We narrowed it down to a couple of options and when we brought our director he immediately knew that Bamburgh was the right choice.

"We were there for two weeks dressing the castle and it looked really fantastic when we came to film.

"We had two key hooks that we were looking for that would tie us into a specific location.

"One was a castle - we needed a castle that had a nice entrance, grand courtyard and grand interior space and we found that in Bamburgh."

Northumberland will double as 1944 war-torn Germany in the film, where Indiana Jones and his granddaughter will search for a legendary dial that can change the course of history. 

Mr. Broadfoot also confirmed that he was planning another filming expedition in the north east, and Northumberland's coverage in this blockbuster is sure to make people even more aware of the spectacular views on offer in this part of the UK.