‘Indiana Jones 5’ used new VFX technology to de-age Harrison Ford to return to the original Indy Trilogy: ‘It’s a Little Spooky’

Harrison Ford is back in adventure mode in the first images from “Indiana Jones 5,” which debuted exclusively via Empire magazine. Along with some of the images comes confirmation that Ford will be ageing with visual effects so that Indiana Jones will appear in the film as his age from the original trilogy. The de-aging technology is only used in the opening scene of the film, which is set in a 1944 castle and pits Indiana against a group of Nazis.

“Then we fall out, and you find yourself in 1969,” said director James Mangold, who is taking over the filmmaking duties on the franchise from Steven Spielberg. “So that the audience does not experience the change between the ’40s and the ’60s as an intellectual vanity, but quite literally experiences the enigmatic spirit of those early days…then beginning now.”

“I hope that even though it’s going to be talked about in terms of technology, you watch it and go, ‘Oh my God, they just found footage.'” “This was something they’ve been shooting for 40 years,” producer Kathleen Kennedy added. “We’re getting you on an adventure, which is something Indy is looking for, and immediately you get this feeling of, ‘I’m in an Indiana Jones movie.'” “

As Empire magazine reported: “Several techniques were used to pull off the sequence, including a new ILM program that searched archived material for the younger Harrison Ford before matching it to newly taken footage.”

Seeing himself grow old was “a little scary,” Ford said, but added, “This is the first time I’ve seen him where I believe in him… I don’t think I even Wants To see how it works, but it works. But that doesn’t make me want to be young. I’m glad I earned my life.”

The bulk of “Indiana Jones 5” takes place in 1969 and takes place against the space race. The film would take the franchise back to its Raiders of the Lost Ark roots by having Indiana pit against the Nazis once again (hence the 1944 opening). One of the main events in the film is set in the Apollo 11 tape parade in New York, which took place on August 13, 1969.

“The simple fact is that the moon landing program was run by a group of ex-Nazis,” co-creator Jez Butterworth tells Empire. “How are their ‘ex’ is the question. And Indy’s nose turned up…”

Mads Mikkelsen plays the “Indiana Jones 5” villain, a guy named Voller inspired by real-life Nazi turned NASA engineer Wernher von Braun. The actor quipped, “He’s a guy who’d like to right some of the wrongs of the past. There’s something that can make the world a much better place to live in. He’d love to get his hands on it. He wants Indiana Jones to get his hands on it, too. And so, we have a story.”

Starring opposite Ford and Mikkelsen in the film are Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Thomas Kretschmann, Boyd Holbrook, Shawnette Renée Wilson, Toby Jones, Antonio Banderas and John Rhys-Davies.

The fifth “Indiana Jones” movie comes at a time when Disney and Lucasfilm are hoping to revive the franchise in more ways than one. diverse It exclusively reported earlier this month that Disney is actively looking to develop an Indiana Jones TV show for Disney+. The Mouse House and Lucasfilm brought up the possibility of a streaming show in World Archeology at public meetings with the writers recently.

Disney will release Indiana Jones 5 in theaters nationwide on June 30, 2023.