‘Indiana Jones 5’: First Look at Mads Mikkelsen as Sequel Villain, Bringing Back Nazis

Harrison Ford’s return as Indiana Jones in ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ did not end with the best results, becoming universally considered the worst of the saga. Still, the actor wanted to put his hat back on and crack the whip one more time, and 15 years later, once again brings the saga to play the iconic archaeologist for the last time, in what will be his official farewell to the franchise after more than 40 years.

We have just seen the first images of Ford as Indy in the sequel directed by James Mangold, replacing for the first time Steven Spielberg, who remains in the saga as producer; and we already have here first look at the film’s villain, Mads Mikkelsen, with whom ‘Indiana Jones’ goes back to basics.

Mikkelsen, known among other things for ‘Hannibal’, ‘Doctor Strange (Doctor Strange)’ or ‘Fantastic Beasts: Dumbledore’s Secret’, is an expert in playing villains, and here he takes on the role of a mad scientist named Voller, an antagonist partially inspired by current Nazi-turned-NASA engineer Wernher von Braun., as revealed by Empire magazine, which has exclusively shared the new photos of the film, where we see the actor with a look that refers us directly to Arnold Toht, the villain of the first episode. Mikkelsen describes the character as “a man who wants to correct some past mistakes”and adds: “There’s something that could make the world a better place to live in, and he would like to have it. Even Indiana Jones wants it. And therein lies the story.”.

In this way, the Nazis return as enemies of Indiana Jones after having faced them several times from “Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark”. Although the film is set several decades after World War II, the Nazi threat is still present in the world (how sadly current) and Henry Jones Jr. will face them again.

It will be precisely in the year 1969, as confirmed by Empire, which reveals in its special cover on the new installment that the film takes place in the context of the space race, in which the Americans’ struggle to reach the moon before the Russians will lead Indy to discover some other “inconvenient truth”. “The reality is that the lunar program was run by a group of ex-Nazis”says Jez Butterworth, co-writer of “Indiana Jones 5.” “How far that ‘ex’ goes is the main question. And that will make Indy uncomfortable.”. This plot closes the cycle for the character, who will meet the original villains of the saga in an environment where, according to Butterworth, “The model of what a hero is has changed. It’s not just that they’re looking for something that’s not up there, […] but the people behind it are their biggest enemies”.

Revealed one of the free kicks

Accompanying Mikkelsen on the bad side will be Boyd Holbrook (‘Narcos’, ‘Predator’), who plays a character named Klaber, who the actor describes as “a little dog of Mads character” and who anticipates what “he is crazy”.

The first image of Holbrook in ‘Indiana Jones 5’, also released for the first time by Empire, corresponds to what will be one of the great action scenes of the film, which takes place during the Apollo 11 triumphal parade in New York. The as yet untitled film also stars Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Thomas Kretschmann, Shaunette Renée Wilson, Toby Jones and Antonio Banderas, and will be released in theaters on June 30, 2023.