The Indiana Jones TV Series On Disney+ Will Not Star Harrison Ford (Or Phoebe Waller Bridge's New Character)
Indiana Jones has been doing this whole "Action hero archaeologist" thing for a long, long time. In that span, he's squared off against some of the greatest powers and fiercest villains the world has ever seen. Next year, however, the rugged adventurer might just come up against his most dangerous threat yet: internet rumors.
Someone light a candle for the endlessly patient director James Mangold, please. Ever since signing on to the franchise film that would eventually be revealed as "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," the "Walk the Line" and "Logan" filmmaker and the project overall have come under a relentless barrage of internet ire fueled by some of the worst members of modern fandom these days. From baseless speculation about alternate endings and constant reshoots to the usual reactionary meltdowns about Indy being "replaced" by the character played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mangold has joined fellow social media-savvy director James Gunn in routinely shutting down the rumor mill. Part of the job description for directors involves putting out fires, of course, but suddenly we're wistful for the days when that requirement was confined to actual movie sets.
In any case, the tireless Mangold is at it again, clearing the air and calling out patently false misinformation one misguided Twitter user at a time. This time, the rumor du jour involves the "Indiana Jones" television series that we previously reported is in early development. With practically no information available about the project beyond the rather obvious fact that it will be "set in the world of the globe trotting archaeologist," certain fans immediately leaped to conclusions and assumed that this would show how Waller-Bridge's Helena supposedly takes over for Indy.
According to Mangold, however, this couldn't be further from the truth.
Clickbait ... why did it have to be clickbait?
Giant rolling boulders, Nazis, and all the booby traps that ancient civilizations could come up with have nothing on the looming and ever-present obstacles of YouTubers and Twitter trolls assuming the absolute worst about an upcoming project and turning rampant misinformation into profit. Luckily, James Mangold has had enough of it.
In his latest war against the dregs of the "Indiana Jones" fanbase, Mangold has addressed the nonsense speculation that either Harrison Ford or Phoebe Waller-Bridge would have anything to do with the planned "Indiana Jones" series. In a tweet and follow-up reply (because one does not simply state a fact on Twitter once without needing to rebut the willful, misconstrued interpretations multiple times), the director shot down the latest nonsense, saying that "...neither character you mention is in the proposed show. It is not up to me to give away more than that yet. Sorry!"
Neither.
— Mangold (@mang0ld) December 19, 2022
I already said (above) that neither character you mention is in the proposed show. It is not up to me to give away more than that yet. Sorry!
— Mangold (@mang0ld) December 20, 2022
Though the full extent of Mangold's creative role in the series is currently unknown, it stands to reason that he'd have firsthand knowledge of Lucasfilm and Disney's plans. Also, in case it even needs to be mentioned, it's incredibly difficult to imagine an actor of Harrison Ford's status signing on to reprise his role as Indy again ... and for a straight-to-streaming series, at that. Meanwhile, though Waller-Bridge has certainly made her mark on television to this point and could theoretically become enough of a breakout character in "Dial of Destiny" to merit her own spinoff, let's pump the brakes just a bit and at least see how it all plays out before getting mad about it. Or, better yet (and for all our sakes), maybe don't get mad about silly things!
"Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" will hit theaters on June 30, 2023.