Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny's Mads Mikkelsen Breaks Down New Villain

By Kofi Outlaw

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is almost (finally) in theaters, and the fifth film in the series is getting a fan-favorite actor as its villain: Mads Mikkelsen. After impressing James Bond fans as Le Chiffre in Casino Royale (2006), or leading the Silence of the Lambs prequel series Hannibal as Hannibal Lecter, Mikkelsen will once again go evil as "Jürgen Voller," a "former Nazi during World War II" and mathematician "who has been hired by NASA and seeks to use the Apollo moon landing program for his own gain."

It's been hinted at in trailers and promotional interviews for Indiana Jones 5 that Mikkelsen's Voller will possibly be looking to mess with history – perhaps rewriting things so World War II had a very different outcome.

"I think the passion for what he does and passion for what he's looking for, without giving too much away, and the passion for him knowing that this can make the world a better place – all that I can identify with," Mikkelsen teased to EW. He went on to explain that the devil is really in the details when it comes to his character – and what Voller's vision of 'making the world a better place' means, exactly: 

 "What does a better place look like? This is where it gets tricky," Mikkelsen said. "So I just have to leave that out, and then I can replace the end goal with something else [in my mind]. And then it's recognizable, for me at least."

INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY
(Photo:

Doctor Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen) in Lucasfilm's INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

- Lucasfilm Ltd.)

That's clever wording from a James Bond/Marvel/Star Wars franchise veteran; in our estimation, though, it pretty much equates to the idea that Jürgen Voller will be a man looking to use time travel or rewritten history to superimpose the Nazis' vision of world order over the reality we know. Voller saying "Hitler made mistakes" in one footage clip suggests that the villain will be pushing his own science-based agenda rather than blindly following a cult-like ideology: 

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"Well, if you're a believer into a certain ideology, obviously, your end game would be that that ideology will be the winning hand, right? And that can come in many shapes and forms," Mikkelsen elaborated. "I do think that he disagreed with Hitler on a lot of things. And [his ideas] might even be a better version than Hitler's... he's a man who is very, very passionate about his job, the science of what he's doing, and less so with the ideology of what he's doing. But if they can go hand in hand, that will be a good day for him."

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny stars Harrison Ford, Mads Mikkelsen, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Toby Jones, John Rhys-Davies, Boyd Holbrook, Shaunette Renée Wilson, Thomas Kretschmann, and Antonio Banderas. It is directed by James Mangold (Logan, 3:10 to Yuma) and will be in theaters on June 30th.

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