Nazis, Again: Indiana Jones 5 Antagonists Idea is Older Than Ford Himself
Name one movie character who is exceptionally good at fighting Nazis. The answer, of course, is the heroic archaeology professor Indiana Jones, who has been battling the evil Germans since Raiders of the Lost Ark was released in 1981.
The upcoming Indiana Jones 5, the child of James Mangold, is still unnamed, but it is the old Jones' enemies that the fedora-wearing 80-year-old hero will have to deal with.
According to Empire, Indiana Jones 5 will follow the professor in the late 1960s as the space race between the Soviet Union and the United States unfolds. The Americans want to be the best and land on the moon before the Russians. But Indiana Jones learns that former Nazis are helping the Americans beat the USSR.
"The moon-landing program was run by a bunch of ex-Nazis," Indiana Jones 5 co-writer Jez Butterworth tells Empire and that's something the staunch anti-Nazi fighter just can't stand. So Jones springs into action. "How 'ex' they are is the question. And it gets up Indy's nose," Butterworth adds.
Mads Mikkelsen plays Voller, who was inspired by Wernher von Braun, a former Nazi rocket engineer who joined NASA. Both Voller and Indiana Jones want to get their hands on an artifact that can change the world for the better, except that the ex-Nazi wants to correct some mistakes from the past.
We're still more than 6 months away from the debut of the 5th installment of the sequel, but we're getting all kinds of teasers. Harrison Ford recently revealed that the movie will show his character (and himself) at the end of the journey.
But even before he shared his thoughts on the movie, fans on social media started sounding the alarm. They were confused by rumors that Indiana Jones would be replaced by a female character – a claim that Mangold vehemently denied.
The filmmaker came under heavy fire in recent weeks after other rumors suggested the film was as bad as it could be. Reports, citing anonymous Hollywood sources, suggested that bosses were unhappy with the way the movie ended and forced the production team to reshoot. There were also reports that all five different endings failed in test screenings. These speculations have also been put to rest.
Mangold, who took over from Steven Spielberg – the father of the first 4 Indy movies in the franchise – has a challenging task. He has to prove with his new movie that he can be trusted and that he is on the same level as Spielberg. To do this, he must maintain the Indy lore.
So far, he's handling the pressure well, promising a trailer next month.
Indiana Jones 5 will be released on June 30, 2023.