When Indiana Jones 5 arrives in theaters fans won’t just be seeing Indy in the twilight of his career and life, they will also be seeing him in his prime. As more details continue to be released about the film, it has been learned that a much younger Indiana Jones than one would expect to see will be featured. The news of the de-aged Indy comes in a week when fans have also gotten to see the first photo of Indy from the film and also his foe.
According to Empire Magazine, de-aging technology will be used on Harrison Ford in the title role during the opening scene of the movie. This will take Indiana Jones back to 1944 and put him in a castle where he is facing off against a group of Nazis.
“Then we fall out, and you find yourself in 1969,” said director James Mangold, who took over the helm of directing Indiana Jones from Steven Spielberg. “So that the audience doesn’t experience the change between the ‘40s and ‘60s as an intellectual conceit, but literally experiences the buccaneering spirit of those early days… and then the beginning of now.”
“My hope is that, although it will be talked about in terms of technology, you just watch it and go, ‘Oh my God, they just found footage. This was a thing they shot 40 years ago’,” added producer Kathleen Kennedy. “We’re dropping you into an adventure, something Indy is looking for, and instantly you have that feeling, ‘I’m in an Indiana Jones movie.’”
Empire Magazine shared that “Several techniques were employed to pull the sequence off, including new ILM software that trawled through archived material of the younger Harrison Ford before matching it to the freshly-shot footage.”
Harrison Ford shared that seeing himself de-aged was “a little spooky,” but added, “This is the first time I’ve seen it where I believe it…I don’t think I even want to know how it works, but it works. It doesn’t make me want to be young, though. I’m glad to have earned my age.”
Most of the movie will take place in 1969 against the backdrop of the space race. Although it takes place decades later than the original Indiana Jones film, it will still hold on to the roots of the character. Indy will again be facing off against the Nazis, just like he did in Raiders of the Lost Ark. However, the past doesn’t always just flat away.
“The simple fact is that the moon-landing program was run by a bunch of ex-Nazis,” co-writer Jez Butterworth told Empire Magazine. “How ‘ex’ they are is the question. And it gets up Indy’s nose…”
Mads Mikkelsen, who plays a villain named Voller who is inspired by real-life Nazi-turned-NASA-engineer Wernher von Braun, shared about his role saying, “He’s a man who would like to correct some of the mistakes of the past. There is something that could make the world a much better place to live in. He would love to get his hands on it. Indiana Jones wants to get his hands on it as well. And so, we have a story.”
Along with Harrison Ford and Mads Mikkelsen, other actors in the film include Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Thomas Kretschmann, Boyd Holbrook, Shaunette Renée Wilson, Toby Jones, Antonio Banderas, and John Rhys-Davies.
Indiana Jones 5 arrives in theaters on June 30, 2023. What do you think of this news of a de-aged Indiana Jones for the film? Are you excited about it? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!
