'Entirely possible' 'Indiana Jones' could become a female-led franchise, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy says

"Indiana Jones" could become a franchise with a female protagonist, led by the character Helena Shaw.

The movie studio president, Kathleen Kennedy of Lucasfilm, recently admitted that "it's entirely possible" that the Helena Shaw character could take over the "Indiana Jones" franchise. Speaking to Variety magazine, Kennedy was asked whether Disney and Lucasfilm have any plans to make the character played by actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge the focus of upcoming movies.

“It’s entirely possible" that it could happen, she said. However, she said, “We’re not having any of those conversations right now. We’re just focused on finishing this with Harrison [Ford].”

Kennedy has been accused of ruining the "Star Wars" franchise since taking over the helm of the movie studio in 2013, after longtime creator George Lucas stepped down.

According to Bounding into Comics, this latest hint at a female "Indiana Jones" is just another log placed onto an already burning rumor mill that has teased the new direction for the last several years.

The new film in the series starring Harrison Ford, "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," was already rumored to have Waller-Bridge’s character replace Ford's at the end of the movie.

In June 2021, a longtime movie insider and YouTuber with over 315,000 subscribers called Overlord DVD said that sources told him that there would be two endings considered for the movie. "In one of the rumored endings, young Indiana Jones dies alongside old Indiana Jones and Phoebe Waller-Bridge swoops in like a vulture, picks the hat up, and takes his place moving forward,” he claimed.

This rumor was then exacerbated by a Daily Mail report, which included an anonymous source that told the outlet "gossip on the set is that this character will slot into the leading role.”

The aforementioned YouTuber seemed to confirm his early reports in a May 2023 video and stated that an on-set leaker told him that filmmakers seemed to have cut any of the scenes that would have the female character taking over the lead role. Those scenes were allegedly replaced with her bringing Ford's character back to life.

However, the industry insider still thought the producer would take her chance to "elevate stunning, brave women."

While director James Mangold told Variety that he's "not interested" in the female lead, adding, “I refuse. I just can’t do it," rumors have circled around him as well.

After iconic composer John Williams told an audience he had another ending of the film he still needed to compose for, Mangold responded to the rumors by saying Williams was "mistaken" and that the lead character was never going to be replaced. After saying that Williams must have been "misinformed," Mangold later cryptically said that Williams was actually "fully informed."

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