‘Indiana Jones 5’: Mads Mikkelsen Says New Indy Is Going “Heavily Back To The First & Second Film” Roots

The “Indiana Jones” franchise is making a comeback with a fifth and potentially final film as the long-delayed production finally went in front of cameras last year. After multiple development hiccups that led to director Steven Spielberg stepping back as a producer, Lucasfilm ended up hiring James Mangold (“Logan,” “Ford v Ferrari“) to help with the script along with taking on directing duties. We’ll see a nearly 80-year-old Harrison Ford back in the saddle as Indy, and it sounds like the film won’t be looking at the disastrous “Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull” as inspiration.

While chatting with The Hollywood Reporter, Ford’s co-star Mads Mikkelsen (“Another Round“), expected to be playing the film’s villain, says that “Indiana Jones 5” is going back to its roots and returning to the style of the first two popular installments. Along with pointing out his love for “Raiders of The Lost Ark.”

READ MORE: James Mangold’s ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Adds Antonio Banderas & ‘Ford v Ferrari’ Screenwriters

“[‘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,” the Danish actor said. “They’re going heavily back to the first and second film and getting that original feel, the original Indy, something dense and epic.”

Mikkelsen added some praise for Mangold filling Spielberg’s shoes, saying “It felt like a Spielberg film, though it’s obviously James making it with the same vision.”

The actor also recalled the first day of shooting with Ford and being impressed by his physicality: “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. Harrison is a monster of a man, a very nice monster.”

The rest of the untitled film’s cast includes Phoebe Waller-Bridge (“Solo: A Star Wars Story“), Thomas Kretschmann (“King Kong,” “Valkyrie,” “Blade II“), Antonio Banderas (“Pain & Glory“), Boyd Holbrook (“The Predator,” “Narcos,” “Logan“), Shaunette Renée Wilson (“The Resident“), and Toby Jones (“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,” “Captain America: The First Avenger“).

Disney has finally settled on having “Indiana Jones 5” swinging into theaters on June 30, 2023.