Will Indiana Jones fans be treated to more nonsense like Indy getting into a refrigerator and getting blown sky-high by a nuclear blast in the series’ next highly anticipated installment? That seems unlikely, according to actor Mads Mikkelsen, who talked a little bit about Indiana Jones 5 in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter and teased what readers might be able to expect in James Mangold’s upcoming film. Mikkelsen, who will star alongside Harrison Ford in a mysterious and possibly villainous role, suggested that the film won’t go wild like Kingdom of the Crystal Skull did and will mark a return to the franchise’s earlier roots. Indiana Jones 5 should recapture the magic of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Temple of Doom, if the actor is to be believed.
“[Raiders of the Lost Ark] was one of my favorite films, and it just oozed that golden period of serials from the 1940s — and that’s in the fifth film as well,” Mikkelsen revealed, teasing the next Indiana Jones installment that’s due on June 30, 2023. “They’re going heavily back to the first and second film and getting that original feel, the original Indy, something dense and epic.”
Mads Mikkelsen on ‘Fantastic Beasts’ Casting “Chaos,” Johnny Depp, JK Rowling and ‘Indy 5’ (The Hollywood Reporter)
His much-deserved break follows the actor working for 14 months on Beasts and his other upcoming big franchise project — the long-awaited Indiana Jones 5.
While he’s forbidden from discussing character or story details from the film (the rumor is that he plays, yes, the villain), Mikkelsen revealed the movie feels like a return to the franchise’s early 1980s roots.
James Mangold (Ford v Ferrari) has taken over directing duties from Steven Spielberg, who remains on board as an executive producer. “It felt like a Spielberg film, though it’s obviously James making it with the same vision,” Mikkelsen says. Harrison Ford, who’s pushing 80, returns as the iconic adventurer.
Asked how Ford was holding up following reports that he injured his shoulder on set, Mikkelsen says he was impressed with his co-star’s physicality. “It was the first time I met him, and he’s an insanely powerful person,” he says. “Not just as an actor, but physically. I remember the first day we were shooting, it was a night shoot, then we stopped at 5 a.m. — and then he got on his mountain bike and went biking for 50 kilometers [31 miles]. Harrison is a monster of a man, a very nice monster.”