'Fleabag' actor Phoebe Waller-Bridge to star in new 'Indiana Jones'

The film will reportedly be Harrison Ford's last as the titular character

Phoebe Waller-Bridge will star alongside Harrison Ford in the new 'Indiana Jones' movie due to hit screens next summer, Lucasfilm said on April 9, 2021. AFP

Fleabag actor and creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge will star alongside Harrison Ford in the new Indiana Jones movie due to hit screens next summer, Lucasfilm said on Friday.

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 series' fifth instalment, to be directed by James Mangold (Ford v Ferrari, Logan) has been billed as the final outing of Ford, 78, as the hero archaeologist.

The "new adventure" will feature a "dream team of all-time great filmmakers" including producers Steven Spielberg – who was initially due to direct – and Kathleen Kennedy, Mangold told AFP.

"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," Mangold said.

The casting caps a remarkable rise for British actor and writer Waller-Bridge, 35, who won several Emmys for Fleabag, the smash-hit TV adaptation of her one-woman show about a disillusioned young singleton in London.

Waller-Bridge also co-wrote spy thriller Killing Eve and the pandemic-delayed James Bond film No Time To Die, set for a September release.

She has worked previously with Lucasfilm, playing acerbic droid L3-37 in Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018).

The fifth Indiana Jones film has been in production for years, with Lucasfilm parent company Disney confirming Ford's return at an investor day in December.

Ford first picked up the adventurer's signature hat and whip in 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark – just a few years after achieving global fame as Han Solo in the original Star Wars film.

Three years later, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom followed. In 1989, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade hit cinemas, with Sean Connery playing Indy's dad.

Nearly 20 years would pass before Ford starred in the fourth film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which had box office success but was critically panned.

Famed composer John Williams, who created the films' famous theme music, will return to score the fifth film, which is due in July 2022.