The cinematic calendar is about to change to 2023, which means moviegoers are about to have a bunch of new films to gush over. Arguably one of the most anticipated films next year is the untitled Indiana Jones 5, which will see star Harrison Ford put on the fedora one last time. After many years in development purgatory, the final film in this adventure saga is hitting theaters in June, and fans are finally getting their first official tease of the film thanks to Empire Magazine. As a part of their 2023 Preview issue that features Indy’s epic return as its cover story, we now have our first look at Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s character Helena.
It’s been confirmed by Empire that Helena will be Indy's goddaughter, and the new image sees the pair in the heart of the new adventure. Helena is looking at something off in the distance while Indy seems to be getting some information. With no context of where they are or what they’re doing, it feels like Helena is taking the thrilling sense of adventure in. When talking to Empire, Waller-Bridge called Helena a “mystery and a wonder,” while director James Mangold said the character was “slippery, charming, the girl next door, [and] a grifter”. Ford also chimed in, saying Helena was “a pioneer in ethical accounting”. That’s all we know about this still pretty mysterious character, but Mangold added that he was inspired by Barbara Stanwyck’s character in the 1941 screwball comedy The Lady Eve.
The Empire cover story has brought a lot of compelling intrigue to Indy’s last adventure. We now know that Indiana Jones 5 will be taking place in 1969, focusing on the space race of the era and the discovery that ex-Nazis had a hand in the NASA program’s creation. As fans know, the only thing Indy hates more than snakes is Nazis. This plot will also take our favorite cinematic adventurer to New York City for part of the film and up against Mads Mikkelsen’s villainous Voller.
Indiana Jones is one of the most iconic franchises in cinematic history. Whether its John Williams' brilliant musical score or Ford’s endless charm, it's the definition of a classic adventure series, and it'll be exciting to see what both Waller-Bridge and Mangold bring to the franchise. Waller-Bridge has been killing it lately with Fleabag, Killing Eve, and Solo: A Star Wars Story, and she had a writing credit on the latest James Bond film No Time to Die, so expect a lot of fresh fun life out of her character Helena in this last Indy adventure.
Indiana Jones 5 hits theaters on June 30, 2023.