From “Logan” to more recent “Indiana Jones” and “Dial of Fate,” James Mangold is used to tackling big stories in established franchises. Now, with Timothée Chalamet’s Bob Dylan biopic “The Complete Unknown” in theaters, Mangold is turning his attention to a galaxy far, far away, and a long time ago.
“The Star Wars movie will take place 25,000 years before any known Star Wars movie,” Mangold revealed in an interview with MovieWeb. “It’s an area and playground that I’ve always wanted to explore and was inspired by when I was a teenager.”
Mangold added that the aim is to avoid being “handcuffed” by the series’ dense and “almost static” lore. “You can’t please anyone.”
The project, currently titled Star Wars: Rise of the Jedi, is based on the 2012 comic book series Rise of the Jedi, which begins 36,453 years before the events of A New Hope and follows the Jedi. It delves into the early days of its predecessor, the Jedi. On the planet Tython. Written by John Ostrander and illustrated by Jan Dulsema, the story features Shei Koda, a brave and curious Jedi of Dathomirian descent, and a mysterious Force force whose arrival sets events in motion. Unique characters such as the hound Zesh appear. The series ended in 2014 with the third chapter, “Force Wars.”
Director Mangold is co-writing the screenplay with Emmy-nominated writer Beau Willimon (Andor, House of Cards), but the project is still in development, with no release date or shooting date yet. The schedule has not been disclosed.
Mangold emphasized the importance of creating something fresh, even within the confines of a beloved series. “What’s really important to me is the freedom to create something new,” he told MovieWeb. “Again, the question is, will you find a way to say something original on the page?”
The filmmaker said he also wanted to focus on the emotional core, which he believes is essential to a film’s success. “It’s an emotion, it’s an ’emotion’, right? That determines how we feel about these movies and whether we want to go see them again. ”
This project is still in its early stages, so we don’t know yet when everything will come together. For now, we can only speculate about what the Mangolds did. We could have planned for this galaxy too.
