Ke Huy Quan declared his love for Short Round after reuniting with Harrison Ford on the Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny red carpet.
A viral video from the Dial of Destiny premiere caught Quan joyfully sneaking up on Ford, who is speaking to a reporter at the event. However, Ford gets an unexpected intermission when he realises that Quan has joined him and immediately turns around to embrace him.
Ke Huy Quan surprises Harrison Ford at the #IndianaJones and the Dial of Destiny U.S. Premiere 🫶 pic.twitter.com/UAfORSHb77
— Indiana Jones (@IndianaJones) June 15, 2023
The duo starred together in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, 39 years ago, and have been making up for lost time in recent months. Quan and Ford shared a wholesome photo of themselves at D23 last year and melted hearts with their celebrations at the 2023 Oscars.
These uplifting moments have prompted fans to campaign for Quan to reprise his role as Short Round in the Indiana Jones franchise, and it seems like Quan is supporting the crusade as he told Variety that it would be "incredible" to make a comeback after all of these years.
"Are you kidding me?" he responded after being quizzed on whether he would consider a return. "I love Short Round. What a great character. I would like to think he's following in Indiana Jones' footsteps. It would be incredible and amazing to revisit that character."
Quan's Oscar-winning comeback in Everything Everywhere All at Once further fueled hopes for a Short Round cameo (or more) in Dial of Destiny, even though that film had already long since wrapped production by the time Quan took home Best Supporting Actor.
Unfortunately, Dial of Destiny director/co-writer James Mangold couldn't find a way to bring Short Round back for Ford's Indy swansong because it wouldn't have served a purpose from a storytelling perspective, and he "didn't want another adult along for the ride" just for the sake of it.
Several new comrades have joined Indy for his next adventure, which will roll out in theaters on June 30 – but you might want to hold on to your fedoras as IGN's review of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny noted that the film "fails to recapture Spielberg's magic."
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.