Star Wars: James Mangold’s New Movie Gets Surprising Update

Lucasfilm may be having their way with the streaming space, releasing projects such as The Mandalorian and Andor, and it seems that they’re about to make a big splash back on to the big screen. During this year’s Star Wars Celebration, it was revealed that there are three Star Wars movies in development at Lucasfilm, including a Rey Skywalker movie, a film set in the Mandalorian universe, and a film set during the Dawn of the Jedi that will be helmed by James Mangold (Logan, Indiana Jones, and the Dial of Destiny). Mangold is, of course, really excited about helming a Star Wars movie, but it seems that he might not even begin penning the script until sometime in October. According to Jeff Sneider’s The Hot Mic podcast, the Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi director isn’t expected to put pen to paper until sometime in October, provided that the WGA Strike is over.

James Mangold on Origins of Star Wars Movie

During a previous discussion with ComicBook.com at the most recent Star Wars Celebration about the origin of his upcoming movie, Mangold explained, “It just came from me thinking about if I were doing one, it seemed to me that most of what they were thinking about doing with movies were either in the present of Star Wars or the future, and what attracted me most was the distant past and how this galaxy formed and how, more specifically, the Force was discovered.”

With the franchise’s vastly long legacy of intriguing characters, fans are really curious about the kind of figure that could be at the forefront of this type of story, with the director confirming of such a role, “First you have to write the character and that’s what I’m doing right now.”

James Mangold on Ben-Hur Inspiration for Upcoming Star Wars Movie

When Lucasfilm’s big cinematic Star Wars Celebration panel wrapped, reporters had the opportunity to speak with James Mangold as well as the two other directors they announced, and they asked him one of the most important questions: why this project? And what kind of movie does he hope to make? 

“It’s a chance to tell the entire story of its own, the birth of the Force,” Mangold recently revealed at Star Wars Celebration. “When I first talked to Kathy Kennedy about it, I just said, ‘I just see this opening to make kind of a ‘Ben-Hur’ or ‘The 10 Commandments’ about the birth of the Force.’ The Force has become a kind of religious legend that spans through all these movies. But where did it come from? How is it found? Who found it? Who was the first Jedi? And that’s what I’m writing right now.”

What do you think about James Mangold helming his upcoming Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi movie? Are you ready for Lucasfilm to bring Star Wars back to the big screen? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting our writer @NateBrail up on Twitter!