In light of recent rumors that Phoebe Waller-Bridge would be stepping up to replace Harrison Ford as the franchise’s titular hero following his final outing in the role, Indiana Jones 5 director has denied that such a development was ever in the cards for the upcoming sequel.
Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) in the upcoming fifth installment of the “Indiana Jones” franchise ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
RELATED: Rumor: Indiana Jones 5 Test Screenings Are Abysmal, Disney In A Panic
The most recent whispers that Disney would be return to the bottom of their creative well with Indiana Jones 5 were first brought to public attention on November 7th, courtesy of YouTuber Overlord DVD, a.k.a. Doomcock.
Announcing to his audience that test screenings were reportedly “a nightmare”, the masked scooper explained that, according to his sources, ” Disney has had test screenings of not one, but six different endings, and not a one can get a good audience score.”
“We’ve been told out of the six endings they tested the best one gets a 35% approval from test audiences,” Doomcock explained, before noting that “Bridge put the hat on in every ending.”
“All my spies actually said was Phoebe Waller-Bridge puts on Indy’s hat, takes Indy’s whip, and in a brave and stunning display of girl power she becomes the besest Indy evar at the end of all six version of the movie,” he concluded.
Source: Taylor Swift Funny SNL Promo & Performance Spoilers, Shared News YouTube
On November 10th, clarification regarding these rumors was finally requested from the director himself.
Taking to Twitter, user @GusHendenborg tagged both Mangold and producer Frank Marshall to ask, “have there been test screenings of Indy V yet? Rumours are flying.”
Archive Link Source: @GusHendenborg Twitter
In turn, Mangold asserted, “Nope. Haven’t been any screenings at all.”
Archive Link Source: James Mangold Twitter
Mangold was then approached by @suntory_peach, who shared a report from entertainment news outlet World of Reel regarding the film’s supposed torch-passing ending and asked, “Any comment on this? Awful, if true.”
Archive Link Source: @suntory_peach Twitter
RELATED: Indiana Jones 5 Director James Mangold Lies About His Temper Tantrum And Attacking Fans
“But not true!” he replied. “So not awful!”
Archive Link Source: James Mangold Twitter
Finally, Mangold closed out his time addressing the topic by acknowleding @WedgeDAntilles’ response of “No but you’re wrong, BasementDweller46 said that KK personally replaces Indiana Jones with a woman in the movie and test screening audiences HATE IT“.
Archive Link Source: @WedgeDAntilles Twitter
Seemingly missing the user’s sarcasm, Mangold earnestly answered. “Well, Paulo, it’s up to you who you believe — an anonymous troll named ‘basement dweller’ & ‘Doomcock’ or the actual director of the film.”
“No one will ever replace Indiana Jones,” concluded the director. “Not in any script. Not in any cut. Never discussed.”
Archive Link Source: James Mangold Twitter
Indiana Jones 5 is currently set to swing its way into theaters on June 30th, 2023.
Source: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), Lucasfilm Ltd.