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Credit: LucasfilmWhile we’ve all spent a lot of time lately talking about movies such as Jurassic World: Dominion (2022), Lightyear (2022), or any of the upcoming MCU movies, it’s easy to forget that another iconic hero will be returning to the silver screen next year.
Yes, Harrison Ford will be reprising his role as the globe-trotting, snake-hating, whip-cracking (and wise-cracking) archaeologist in the fifth installment in the Indiana Jones film series, which is due for release on June 30, 2023, following multiple delays.
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Indiana Jones 5, which is being helmed by Logan (2017) director James Mangold, began shooting in June last year. And while the last film in the series, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), which like the first three films was directed by Steven Spielberg, was met with some prickly reviews from fans and critics alike, anticipation for the fifth Indiana Jones film is high.
Plot details are naturally being kept under wraps, but it’s expected that the film will feature time travel, which wouldn’t be such a stretch of the imagination, especially considering that Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull features aliens (ironically, The X-Files sequel which was out in theaters that same year didn’t include the little green men).
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Now, fellow iconic actor Antonio Banderas, who stars in the film, has revealed his reaction at seeing 79-year-old Harrison Ford , who is famous for both the Indiana Jones and the Star Wars franchises, don his iconic attire on set.
In an interview with USA Today, the Desperado (1995) and Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard (2021) actor said how his first interaction with Harrison Ford was an “unbelievable” experience.
“So unbelievable. The first day I arrived, I was in the makeup trailer, and I turned around and there he was in the full Indiana costume with the hat and the whip,” Banderas said. “Phoebe Waller-Bridge was there with him, too, and it was so cool. I still remember the first time I saw Indiana Jones in a theater and the crowd was crazy about it. I thought, ‘This is like going back to the old adventure [movies] in a completely different way.” He later added, “What I can tell you about my character is he’s not a bad guy. He’s a friend of Indiana. He’s not the biggest character in the movie, but I don’t care. I just like to be part of that.”
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Banderas also went on to talk about the film itself, saying, “This is like going back to the old adventure [movies] in a completely different way.”
Previously, Mads Mikkelsen, who is also starring in the sequel, said that the film “oozed that golden period of serials from the 1940s,” comparing it to Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which he revealed to be one of his favorite films.
“They’re going heavily back to the first and second film and getting that original feel, the original Indy, something dense and epic. It felt like a Spielberg film, though it’s obviously James making it with the same vision.”
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Indiana Jones 5 follows four Indiana Jones movies — Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
While the original Indiana Jones Trilogy has been a long-standing favorite with fans, the fourth entry remains hugely divisive, with many criticizing the green-screen and special effects, the wafer-thin plot, and ultimately, the fact that the film has aliens during its third act (although it’s nowhere near as widely hated as the Star Wars sequel trilogy, in which Harrison Ford reprises his role as Han Solo).
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Nevertheless, despite all the negative reviews, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was 2008’s second-highest-grossing film internationally, behind The Dark Knight (2008), so the fifth Indiana Jones film will most likely be a box office success too.
However, it looks like Harrison Ford is the only returning actor, and there’s no sign of Shia LaBeouf’s Mutt Williams, a character who is inexplicably reviled in the fourth film, perhaps because he was expected to pick up the mantle, which is teased at the end of the film.
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But while LaBeouf isn’t returning, it’s wise not to rule out the possibility of Indiana Jones passing the cap onto a younger actor (Chris Pratt has been at the heart of such rumors). Perhaps the movie will follow the likes of Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021), which is very much about passing the torch (or proton pack) to a new generation. In this case, it would of course be a whip.
Like many movies these days, Indiana Jones 5 hasn’t been without controversy. Last year, a crew member was found dead on the set in Monaco, and Harrison Ford also suffered an injury which left him in a sling, which echoes a similar incident on the set of Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens (2015), during which a hydraulic door landed on the actor while filming.
Indiana Jones 5 is being directed by James Mangold and releases in theaters on June 30, 2023. It stars Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Kretschmann, Boyd Holbrook, Shaunette Renée Wilson, Toby Jones, Antonio Banderas, and Oliver Richters.
The film is yet to receive an office title.
Are you looking forward to Indiana Jones 5? Let us know in the comments down below!