'Indiana Jones 5' Cast Adds 'Hannibal' And 'Another Round' Star Mads Mikkelsen

Things are clearly heating up with Indiana Jones 5. Just last week we learned that Phoebe Waller-Bridge was joining Harrison Ford in the James Mangold-directed pic. Now the cast has another new addition: Mads Mikkelsen, star of Casino Royale, Hannibal, the recent Another Round, and so much more. There's no word yet on who Mikkelsen is playing, and I'm sure the immediate conclusion everyone will jump to is that Mikkelsen is the film's villain, since he tends to specialize in playing morally dubious characters in Hollywood productions.

Deadline has the scoop that Mads Mikkelsen is joining the Indiana Jones 5 cast. Again: we don't know who is he playing. Is it safe to assume he's going to be the bad guy? Maybe. But a part of me also hopes that Indy 5 bucks these preconceived notions and gives Mikkelsen a different kind of part to play. Let him be an old buddy of Indiana Jones, perhaps. But no matter who Mikkelsen ends up playing, I'm sure he'll make the most of it. He's a great actor with real screen presence, and I'm excited to see what he does here.

Mikkelsen joins a cast that includes Harrison Ford, obviously, returning to play Indiana Jones one last time. Phoebe Waller-Bridge is part of the cast as well, and like Mikkelsen, we don't know what Waller-Bridge's role is. Hell, maybe she's playing the villain. We're just going to have to wait and see. James Mangold is directing the film, making this the first Indiana Jones movie not helmed by Steven Spielberg. Spielberg was attached to direct, but frequent delays due to script issues caused him to move on and hand directing duties over to Mangold. However, Spielberg is producing the pic, and Deadline adds that he's "very much involved in various elements of the film." John Williams is back as well to handle the score.

Previously, David Koepp, who wrote the oft-maligned Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, was in charge of the script. However, Koepp moved on, and Jonathan Kasdan took over. A recent press release for Indiana Jones 5 failed to mention which writer was working on the script being used for the film, but Mangold took to social media to set the record straight, saying he's handling the script with Jez and John-Henry Butterworth. Mangold previously worked with the Butterworths on Ford v Ferrari.

Production on Indiana Jones 5 is set to begin this summer, with an eye toward a July 29, 2022 release date.