Some new character details have emerged regarding Phoebe Waller-Bridge's role as Helena in Indiana Jones 5."She's a mystery and a wonder," Waller-Bridge recently told Empire. Director James Mangold added to Waller-Bridge's description, calling Helena "slippery, charming, the girl next door, a grifter." Meanwhile, Harrison Ford -- Indiana Jones himself -- describes the character as a "pioneer in ethical accounting."
Waller-Bridge joined the cast of Indiana Jones 5 in April 2021. Details on her character Helena have been kept under wraps since then, though the Fleabag star is said to be Indiana Jones' goddaughter. In September, composer John Williams unveiled Helena's theme during a concert at the Hollywood Bowl. In doing so, Williams said of Waller-Bridge's character, "She's an adventuress, and she's also a femme fatale. She's many, many things. And her music, she has lyrical music like an old movie star would look like except that she's young and beautiful and wonderful. And here's Helena's Theme like six months too early." Since producer Frank Marshall revealed Helena's goddaughter relationship to Indy, many fans have speculated that she is the daughter of Marcus Brody, a British curator and Indiana Jones' ally (played by the late Denholm Elliott).
Joining Waller-Bridge for Ford's last turn in the fedora are Mads Mikkelsen, Boyd Holbrook, Thomas Kretschmann, Toby Jones, Antonio Banderas and John Rhys-Davies, who reprises his role as Sallah. Like Waller Bridge's Helena, more details on Mikkelsen's character, Voller, have recently come to light. Mikkelsen recently revealed that his villanous character was inspired by the real-life Werner von Braun, a Nazi who became an NASA engineer after World War II. The actor describes Voller as "a man who would like to correct some of the mistakes of the past." Many have taken this as confirmation that the film will involve time travel.
In June 2021, behind the scenes photos and videos emerged from the production of Indiana Jones 5, showcasing a castle decorated with Nazi iconography and Harrison Ford with motion capture dots on his face. Director James Mangold confirmed that Ford will be de-aged in the film's opening, which is said to take place in 1944. However, little is known whether a de-aged Ford will be seen throughout the rest of the film or if time travel plays a part in the actor's final adventure.
Mangold is directing Indy 5 from a screenplay he co-wrote with his Ford v Ferrari scribes John-Henry Butterworth and Jez Butterworth. Steven Spielberg, who directed the first four Indy films and was set to helm the fifth before stepping away from the project, remains attached as a producer alongside Simon Emanuel and longtime series producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall.
Indiana Jones 5 hits theaters on June 30, 2023.
Source: Empire