The opening train sequence in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny takes place in 1944. It shows Indiana Jones and fellow archaeologist Basil Shaw attempting to recover stolen antiquities from Nazi forces near the end of World War II.
This sequence establishes the film’s historical prologue before the story jumps forward to 1969. Indiana and Basil pursue a train carrying Nazi officers and the scientist Jürgen Voller, who is searching for part of the Antikythera mechanism. The sequence also explains Indiana’s long-standing connection with Voller.
The 1944 opening is distinct from the film’s main contemporary setting, which occurs during the Apollo 11 era. It is also separate from the 1930s settings of the earlier Indiana Jones adventures. The time jump lets the film contrast a young, wartime Indiana with the older professor he becomes in 1969.