Over the past two weeks, three major casting announcements regarding the upcoming fifth Indiana Jones film have been made. On April 9th, it was revealed that actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge would be joining the cast alongside Harrison Ford in the new film. Although this is Waller-Bridge’s first time acting alongside Ford, it wasn’t the first time she was in a film with a character of his. She played Lando Calrissian’s droid sidekick L3-37 in 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story, another Lucasfilm production. It is currently unknown what character she will be playing in Indiana Jones 5. A week later, it was announced that actor Mads Mikkelsen would also be joining the cast. Mikkelsen has also been in another Lucasfilm project, portraying Galen Erso in 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Not only has he been in Star Wars, but he’s been a part of the James Bond and Marvel franchises, among many others. It is also unknown what character he’ll be playing. Just yesterday, it was announced that German actor Thomas Kretschmann has joined the cast. He is most well known for portraying the villainous Wolfgang von Strucker in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Who Kretschmann will be playing is yet to be known, although given his repertoire it seems very likely that he’ll be playing a villain in this film.

Alongside these casting announcements, it was also confirmed that legendary composer John Williams will be returning to score the film. Williams has previously scored all four prior Indiana Jones films. Other than these revelations, the rest of the cast, as well as the plot of the film, is unknown. Two actors who have appeared in prior installments of the franchise have expressed interest in returning for this upcoming adventure. Karen Allen, who played Indy’s love interest Marion Ravenwood, has said that she’s “very much hoping that [she] will be a part of it”. John Rhys-Davies, who played the character Sallah, who assisted Indy in his quests for the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail, also would return if asked. “I suppose it is possible that I will be in it,” he said in an interview with ComingSoon, “if nominated I will serve!” Shia LaBeouf, who played Indy’s son Mutt Williams in 2008’s Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has been confirmed to not be returning. 

Indiana Jones 5 will be directed by James Mangold, while series veteran Steven Spielberg will serve as producer. The film will be set sometime in the 1960s. Mangold has written the film alongside Jez and Jon-Henry Butterworth. Walt Disney and Paramount Pictures will collaborate with the production of the film, with the former distributing it and the latter receiving studio credit. Production of the film will begin sometime this spring, shooting at Pinewood Studios in the UK. Indiana Jones 5 will be released in theaters worldwide on July 29, 2022.