Indiana Jones 5: Everything We Know About One More Harrison Ford Adventure
The hat and the whip are back. Mutt Williams is not. Here's everything we know about Harrison Ford's return to archeology.
When the lights went up on 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, even the most diehard Indy fan felt a little disappointed. Sure, we still had three great movies filled with all the archeology and Nazi-punching anyone could want. But few could ignore the sense that the beloved adventurer/part-time teacher was going out on a sour note.
With Lucasfilm under new management since the Disney buyout in 2012, it seemed inevitable we’d see the trusty ol’ fedora again. What might be more impressive, then, is that Harrison Ford‘s Dr. Jones (unlike his Han Solo doppelgänger) is the one returning to the screen, getting one more chance to ride into the sunset with dignity.
Indiana Jones 5 Release Date
Details on the still officially untitled Indiana Jones 5 have been slowly trickling out over the past several months. Most recently, director James Mangold tweeted back in March that he was beginning editing, and even dropped hints about a trailer. While no trailer has yet made it to the internet, we do now have a release date.
During the Lucasfilm presentation at Star Wars Celebration today, presenters left a galaxy far, far away to announce that Indy’s latest adventure will come to theaters on June 30, 2023. Yes, that is a long time to wait, especially when you keep in mind the amount of time that’s passed since Kingdom of the Crystal Skull arrived in theaters. However, the 15-year gap between Indy’s last and latest adventure isn’t quite as long as the 18 years between Crystal Skull and The Last Crusade.
Indiana Jones 5 Cast
Despite some fears that producers Steven Spielberg and George Lucas would pay off the Crystal Skull tease that Shia LaBeouf’s Mutt Williams, the son of Indiana and Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) played, would be the protagonist, producer Frank Marshall has long made clear that Harrison Ford is our only Indy. Thus far, neither Mutt nor Marion are expected to make an appearance in Indy 5.
However, Ford will be joined by an exciting cast, including Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Jones’s latest sidekick and Mads Mikkelsen as the villain. They’ll be joined by veteran actors Toby Jones and Antonia Banderas, as well as genre regulars Thomas Kretschmann, Boyd Holbrook, and Shaunette Renée Wilson.
Indiana Jones 5 Director
The first four Indiana Jones movies were a true dream team, with George Lucas producing and Steven Spielberg directing. The fifth Indy movie diverts from that model, but not as far as you would think. The movie will be helmed by James Mangold, the man behind Logan, 3:10 to Yuma, and most recently Ford v Ferrari.
Like Spielberg before him, Mangold has proven himself to be adept at populist movies with sometimes weighty themes. He’s bringing with him co-writers Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth, the team who worked on Ford v Ferrari. And Spielberg won’t be as far away, as he’ll be producing the film, along with longtime collaborators Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall.
Indiana Jones 5 Setting
It’s hard to separate Jones from his World War II heyday when he raced Nazis to religious treasures and rescued children from an Indian cult. But with a much older Ford donning the whip and fedora, we can expect the action to take place decades later. Early reports from the film’s production in Glasgow, Scotland suggest the film will be set in the summer of 1969 based on streets being dressed with American posters and graffiti teasing anti-Vietnam War protests, as well as the recent return of Neil Armstrong after walking on the moon on July 20, 1969.
However, that does not mean that we’ve necessarily left the World War II era. In fact, leaked set photos confirm there will be significant flashbacks that finally show a hint of what Indy was up to during the actual war, with de-aging technology dots on Ford’s face in sets covered with Nazi and 1940s iconography. So we may het get one last ride with Indy in his prime.
Indiana Jones 5 Story
Disney did release an image of Ford from the film, but sadly it does not give us many details about what the film’s story might be. Set photos and insider information have given us a few details, including the suggestion of not just flashbacks to World War II, but also ancient Roman soldiers. The latter reveal has led some to believe that this adventure will involve time travel, which wouldn’t be out of the question. After all, with Crystal Skull bringing space invaders to the series to match its 1950s setting, it would make sense that more sci-fi concepts would be used in a movie set during the psychedelic ’60s.
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Joe George’s writing has appeared at Slate, Polygon, Tor.com, and elsewhere!