Phoebe Waller-Bridge Was Told to Not Bother Training for Indiana Jones

Actress and writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge was told by producers that she did not really need to stunt-train for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

The newly minted Indiana Jones star Phoebe Waller-Bridge is known for many things: her award-winning, universally acclaimed one-woman show turned award-winning, universally acclaimed television program Fleabag, co-writing the most recent James Bond movie No Time to Die (2021), and playing an abolitionist droid in Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018).

Related: ‘Indiana Jones’ Director Teases Update on DC’s Swamp Thing

One thing she is not known for is death-defying stuntwork and the kind of two-fisted action normally seen in an Indiana Jones movie, usually at the hands of series star Harrison Ford.

Producers Thought Phoebe Waller-Bridge Should Be Clumsy

In a recent Vanity Fair profile, Phoebe Waller-Bridge revealed that she had assumed that she would be given extensive stunt training for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, which seems reasonable for a series legendary for its thrilling action.

However, it seems that director James Mangold (taking over the franchise from Steven Spielberg) and Lucasfilm president and longtime producer Kathleen Kennedy told her not to bother. Specifically, Waller-Bridge says, “I remember quite early on saying to Jim and Kathleen, ‘So I’ll be doing lots of training for my stunt debut?’ And they were like, ‘I think it would be funnier if you don’t.’”

The new Indiana Jones star also says that she has always been a “lanky, gangly kind of awkward physical person,” characteristics shared by her character Helena Shaw, the goddaughter of the eponymous archaeologist. Waller-Bridge even said that while no one could replace Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones, “there’s room for a slightly clumsier, bruised, limping female action star, maybe, in the future.”

Related: ‘Indiana Jones’ Director Explains Decision Opponents Call “Turning Franchise Woke”

Indiana Jones 5 Will Conclude the Series

Harrison Ford has been quite clear in the publicity blitz leading up to the release of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny that the fifth movie will be the last and that no one else will be taking over the character, so anyone worried about Chris Pratt in a fedora, breathe easy.

However, that does not mean that Phoebe Waller-Bridge will not return to the character of Helena Shaw in some kind of spinoff. Despite her critical bonafides, Waller-Bridge has made her willingness to appear in big popcorn movies known, so we could get Helena Shaw and Something of Something in theaters in the near future.

In addition to Harrison Ford bowing out of the series, the movie will also feature the last film score by legendary composer John Williams, who had to be convinced not to retire by Steve Spielberg himself. Pretty much everyone involved in the original films seems ready to call it a day, with Ford done, Spielberg handing off directorial duties, Lucas not getting involved in writing the film, and Williams retiring, it clearly is the final days of the legendary series.

Of course, we still will be getting video games and any number of franchise add-ons from the Disney-owned Lucasfilm, so we just have to wait and see if Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Helena Shaw end up needing stunt training after all.