The as-yet-untitled Indiana Jones 5 will open with a sequence featuring a digitally de-aged Harrison Ford.
While the majority of the forthcoming sequel will be set in 1969, and will see Ford’s daring archaeologist pitted against ex-Nazis during the time of the Space Race, it will begin with a set piece set in 1944.
Director James Mangold confirmed in an interview with Empire magazine that the film would open with Indiana Jones fighting against Nazi soldiers in a castle towards the end of World War II.
“I wanted the chance to dive into this kind of full-on George [Lucas]-and-Steven [Spielberg] old picture and give the audience an adrenaline blast,” Mangold said.
“And then we fall out, and you find yourself in 1969. So that the audience doesn’t experience the change between the Forties and Sixties as an intellectual conceit, but literally experiences the buccaneering spirit of those early days… and then the beginning of now.”
Ford said it was “a little spooky” seeing the de-aged version of himself.
“This is the first time I’ve seen it where I believe it… I don’t think I even want to know how it works, but it works. It doesn’t make me want to be young, though. I’m glad to have earned my age,” he added.
Producer Kathleen Kennedy also spoke about the decision to de-age the film’s 80-year-old star.
“My hope is that, although it will be talked about in terms of technology, you just watch it and go, ‘Oh my God, they just found footage. This was a thing they shot 40 years ago,’” she said.
“We’re dropping you into an adventure, something Indy is looking for, and instantly you have that feeling, ‘I’m in an Indiana Jones movie.’”
Until recently, the details of Indiana Jones 5 have been shrouded in almost complete mystery.
Last week, Mangold used Twitter to debunk a “leaked” ending of the film that had circulated widely on social media.
The controversial ending was supposedly leaked after it was shown to small audiences during test screenings.
However, the filmmaker revealed that, as of earlier this month, there have been no screenings of the film.
