Phoebe Waller-Bridge to star opposite Harrison Ford in next Indiana Jones film

Phoebe Waller-Bridge is to join the cast of the fifth Indiana Jones instalment, Lucasfilm announced today.

The Emmy-winning writer of Fleabag and Killing Eve will co-star alongside Harrison Ford in the film, although her exact role is yet to be confirmed. Ford, 78, has played the beloved titular role in all Indiana Jones films.

Also set to return to the franchise is veteran composer John Williams, who scored the first Raiders of the Lost Ark film in 1981.

Waller-Bridge, 35, has previously featured in Lucasfilm's Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018). Other projects she is working on include an Amazon remake of Mr & Mrs Smith, based on the original 2005 film, in which she will star alongside Donald Glover.

The fifth Indiana Jones film, currently unnamed, will follow in the footsteps of Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981), Temple Of Doom (1984) and The Last Crusade (1989). The last film in the franchise was 2008’s Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which the Telegraph reviewer said “failed to keep up with the previous Joneses”.

For the first time in the franchise’s 40-year history, Steven Spielberg will not be directing the fifth film. James Mangold (Ford v. Ferrari, Logan) will be taking over as director, although Spielberg will be staying on as producer alongside Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, and Simon Emanuel.

“I’m thrilled to be starting a new adventure, collaborating with a dream team of all-time great filmmakers,” Mangold said in a statement. “Steven, Harrison, Kathy, Frank, and John are all artistic heroes of mine.”

“When you add Phoebe, a dazzling actor, brilliant creative voice and the chemistry she will undoubtedly bring to our set, I can’t help but feel as lucky as Indiana Jones himself.”

The latest in the popular franchise, Indiana Jones 5 was first announced in 2016, but production delays have meant that it is now set to be released on July 29, 2022.