Nazi Party

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The source details specific encounters between Indy's allies and Nazi operatives. In Raiders of the Lost Ark, Belloq aids the Nazis in locating the Ark of the Covenant. He is described as highly intelligent, with Sallah noting that among his cohorts, "he is very clever - a French archaeologist." The narrative reveals that Belloq became Indiana's foe at graduate school after plagiarizing an essay on stratigraphy to win an award rightfully belonging to Indy. Another encounter in 1934 saw Indy discover Belloq had excavated the Rub' al Khali region he was preparing for months. In an early script by Frank Darabont titled "Indiana Jones and the City of the Gods," Nazis were set to appear seeking revenge for Belloq's and Toht's deaths, though this draft was rejected.

In Their Own Story

The conflict escalates in the film's climax when the Ark is opened. The contained spirits engulf René Belloq in flames, causing his head to explode, while Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood are spared. This event highlights the specific danger of their quest: they sought divine power but met immediate destruction. In a scrapped early script by Lawrence Kasdan, the character Barranca was to be killed by the Hovito tribe after betraying Indy. Additionally, cancelled plans for The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles would have shown Belloq stealing and selling a crystal skull to F. A. Mitchell-Hedges in Honduras in 1920, exhibiting his ruthless traits before his death.

Reader's Guide

For fans tracking the timeline, the source notes that Belloq was intended to appear in the prequel Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom but was written out for unknown reasons. He was also slated for an episode of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles set in 1921 where he would have aided Indiana and Percy Fawcett in Brazil. In the canceled Dark Horse Comics series "Indiana Jones and the Lost Horizon," Belloq appears in a prologue discovering a fake Turin Shroud in New York City in 1926. Kenner released a 3.75-inch action figure of Belloq dressed in Jewish robes in late 1982, available by mail order until 1983.

Did You Know?

• In an early script by Lawrence Kasdan, Satipo fled the boulder with Indy only to be killed by the Hovito tribe, a fate that was changed in the final film.
• René Belloq's first name was 'Emile' in an August 1979 draft of the Raiders script, and Marion was originally more infatuated with him than in the finished movie.
• The novelization reveals Belloq won an award by plagiarizing Indy's essay on stratigraphy during graduate school.
• Belloq was intended to appear in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom but was written out for unknown reasons before production.
• Kenner released a mail-order action figure of Belloq dressed in Jewish robes in late 1982, which came with the fertility idol.