As James Mangold’s Indiana Jones 5 has started production, Deadline has learned that Academy Award-nominated actor Antonio Banderas will join the cast of the next instalment in the highly popular adventure film series starring Harrison Ford.
Unfortunately, no details were given about what character Banderas is playing (if you’re a betting person…I’m inclined to say he’s one of the villains). Still, he’ll join a cast of star-studded supporting characters, which include Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Kretschmann, Boyd Holbrook, Shaunette René Wilson, and Toby Jones.
Mangold, who took over directing duties after Steven Spielberg stepped down, has also written the script with Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth, with Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Simon Emmanuel, and Spielberg executive producing the film. It was already announced that John Williams would compose the film’s score, and frequent Mangold collaborator Phedon Papamichael would act as the film’s cinematographer. Filming started on June 4th, and production has been slightly delayed after Harrison Ford injured himself while rehearsing a fight scene.
Antonio Banderas was last seen in The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard as the film’s main villain, Aristotle Papadopoulos. He will next appear in Sony’s adaptation of the Uncharted video game series, directed by Ruben Fleischer, starring Tom Holland as Nathan Drake and Mark Wahlberg as Victor Sullivan, set to release on February 18, 2022. He will also star in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, reprising his role as the iconic titular character from the Shrek franchise, which will release on September 23, 2022.
Indiana Jones 5, on the other hand, will release exclusively in theatres on July 29, 2022, which will reportedly be the last time Harrison Ford will don the hat and whip, hoping to pass it along to someone else (fingers crossed). No details on the film’s plot or title were given, but we can surely anticipate an announcement soon enough as we reach closer to the release date.