'Indiana Jones 5': Mads Mikkelsen Talks About Helping Create His Character, Says The Script Is "Everything I Wished It To Be"

As is often the case on huge Hollywood blockbuster movies, Indiana Jones 5 has gone through multiple writers on its way toward production. Considering the disappointment of 2008's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the quality of this new movie's script has been a big talking point among film fans – but now one person involved with the movie is talking up the script in a big way.

Mads Mikkelsen, who was announced as part of the movie's cast a few weeks ago, says in a new interview that the Indiana Jones 5 script "was everything [he] wished it to be" when he read it. Then he put on a conductor's hat, leapt aboard a locomotive, hung a gigantic sign on it that read "All Aboard the Hype Train," and sped off into the night. It sounded like he was yelling something about metaphors becoming reality, but it was tough to hear him because he was also maniacally pulling on the horn as the train disappeared into the distance.

In an interview with Collider, Mikkelsen (Another Round, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) was asked about joining the cast of Indy 5. "I'm very, very excited about it," he replied. "I rewatched Raiders of the Lost Ark the other day, it is so well-done and so charming, and it's such great storytelling. So yes, it's a great honor to be part of that franchise that I grew up with...I'm in a lucky position where they let me read the script before. And yes, it was everything I wished it to be, so that was just great."

I know, I know: it's easy to roll your eyes when an actor says positive things about a project they're involved in. But it's been a hell of a year, and I personally would love nothing more than if this James Mangold-directed movie, which will feature Harrison Ford's final performance in his iconic role, turned out to be a pleasant surprise and a fitting finale for that character, and Mikkelsen's comments make it seem as if that's a possibility.

Elsewhere in the interview, Mikkelsen said he thought he was being "invited in to create a character" here, and praised the way the Indy franchise has consistently included a "genre mix" in its entries. "There is something that is a little larger-than-life, almost back to the '30s with a Peter Lorre kind of feel, and then you have Indiana Jones who kind of is a straight man," he said. I wonder if a strong case could be made that Mikkelsen is the equivalent of this generation's Peter Lorre, but while mulling that over, I'll be crossing my fingers that Ford will be playing the straight man opposite a goofy best friend character played by Mikkelsen in this upcoming sequel.

Indiana Jones 5 is slated to arrive in theaters on July 29, 2022.