'Indiana Jones' Director Slams Trolls Claiming Phoebe Waller-Bridge Is 'Taking Over' For Harrison Ford

Director James Mangold recently shut down rumors spread by online trolls that actor Phoebe Waller-Bridge is replacing Harrison Ford in the next installment of the Indiana Jones franchise.

The next film in the lineup, next summer's Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, will be the fifth and final one for Harrison Ford, who originated the role in 1984.

Given the news that 80-year-old Ford will not be back for any subsequent volumes in the series, trolls and angry fans began melting down over a supposed takeover of the role by Fleabag star Waller-Bridge, likening it to gender-swapped remakes like 2016's all-female Ghostbusters.

Mangold took to Twitter to put the trolls in their place with a thread confirming there is no truth to the rumors and calling out their ridiculous outrage.

Mangold wrote:

"One more time."

"No one is 'taking over' or replacing Indy or donning his hat nor is he being 'erased' thru some contrivance— and he never was, not not in any cut or script — but trolls will troll — that's how they get their clicks."

Mangold went on to call out people who obsessively monitor behind-the-scenes gossip and on-set photos and assume they know the details of forthcoming films. He tweeted:

Mangold finished his thread with a terse call-out of trolls' culture-war obsessions. Mangold tweeted:

He wrote:

"The diff between trolling a-holes & everyone else is they r trying to make $ off your feelings about other films & culture war politics."

"They push contoversial [sic] guesses as coming from 'sources' to gin up clicks. Let it go."

Many believe Mangold to be referencing the trend of gender- and race-swapped film adaptations and remakes, like the aforementioned Ghostbusters, 2018's Ocean's Eight, and Black-led superhero films like Black Panther, that have sparked abusive outrage among many conservatives in recent years.

Many people on Twitter appreciated Mangold's frank approach to the absurd uproar.

Waller-Bridge joins the new installment as Jones' goddaughter Helena. The film is slated to come out in June 2023.