James Mangold recently spoke about his upcoming Star Wars movie, noting that he doesn’t want to be “handcuffed” by George Lucas’s lore.
The James Mangold Star Wars movie is still going forward, confirmed to be an origin story for the Jedi Order.
James Mangold, director of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, recently shared his thoughts and plans for Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi. In an interview with Movie Web, Mangold explained he wants to focus on creative liberty, unburdened by decades of beloved lore established by George Lucas.
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 07: James Mangold and Dave Filoni onstage during the studio panel at Star Wars Celebration 2023 in London at ExCel on April 07, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Kate Green/Getty Images for Disney)
“To me, the really important aspects are the freedom to make something new,” he said. George Lucas’s storytelling pattern for Star Wars was meant to be “like poetry,” giving it structure and depth. Mangold apparently wants to defy this traditional method to work in “something original,” as he put it.
That’s why Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi is going to be a prequel.
James Mangold told Movie Web that the film will take place thousands of years before the main Star Wars story.
“It’s an area and a playground that I’ve always [wanted to explore],” the director explained, “and that I was inspired by as a teenager. I’m not that interested in being handcuffed by so much lore at this point that it’s almost immovable.” The precise date of the film within the Star Wars timeline, according to Mangold, is 25,000 years before any other Star Wars film.
CANNES, FRANCE – MAY 18: (L-R) James Mangold, Harrison Ford, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge attend “Indiana Jones and The Dial Of Destiny” photocall at Carlton Pier on May 18, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Disney)
In Star Wars Legends, that date is better known as 25,000 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin.). In Legends, that is the year the Jedi Order was founded.
This is a big concern for classic Star Wars fans, especially those who still love the Legends stories.
When Disney acquired Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy declared all previous books and games no longer canon to Star Wars lore. This allowed her and her followers to make whatever they wanted under the Star Wars name and brand.
In other words, goodbye, Shadows of The Empire and hello, The Acolyte.
Fans have continuously pointed out several plot points and characters from the scrapped lore inserted (poorly) into current-day Star Wars. It appears this new movie just might be more of the same.
(L-R): Captain Enoch (Wes Chatham) and Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) with Night Troopers in Lucasfilm’s STAR WARS: AHSOKA, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved
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Daisy Ridley as Rey in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), Lucasfilm
It’s a shame that Mangold doesn’t have the creativity to make his own stuff. If he did, he wouldn’t have to worry about following other people’s lore. He could make his own stuff instead.
I expect this to be every bit the equal to Dial of Destiny, which Mangold also made.
Lucas should be happy that one exists because Crystal Skull isn’t the worst Indy movie anymore.
“Lucas should be happy that one exists because Crystal Skull isn’t the worst Indy movie anymore.”
Ehhh…have you watched it lately? It’s really, really bad. Someone who doesn’t know about the drama behind the scenes, or how terrible Fleabag is, can watch Dial of Destiny, feel bored, but walk away unoffended in their artistic or ethical sensibilities. Crystal Skull, by contrast, is childishly-written, badly acted nonsense once you get one third of the way through, roughly about the time Oxley shows up. Besides him stinking up every scene, Cate Blanchett is a cartoon character, and Karen Allen forgot everything she learned in acting school. The CGI absolutely does not hold up, and while the Dial itself may be an uninspired choice for an artifact, the crystal skull and alien plot was aggressively anti the spirit of Indy and the previous three films, rather than just “not a very good idea”.
They’re both far from the heights of the trilogy, but one is merely insipid, while the other is actually insulting. That’s what I think, anyway.
Rewatch movies like Logan. It’s the same nihilistic garbage we’ve had constantly thrown at us over the last several years. It can be cute the first time you see it, but there’s nothing there once you get past the novelty.
Of course he doesn’t. Lore and canon is not something this liar cares about. One look at his Indiana Jones movie proves that.
“I’m not that interested in being handcuffed by so much lore at this point that it’s almost immovable.”
I don’t think he means the lore is stupid or unimportant; I think he’s speaking in context of why he wants to make a film in an area untouched by what Disney considers to be canonical lore.
Still not going to be a very good movie, even if it gets made — which I doubt — but anyway, I don’t think he’s crapping on Star Wars lore in general.
Then don’t make a Star Wars movie. Damn it, I hate such entitled people, who thinks they need to push their own lore into established and existing lore. But hey, other tried it and ruined Star Wars for good. This will flop even more. Star Wars is dead and there are only 6 movies from 1 to 6.
Fantastic–the director of the worst Indiana Jones film now wants a shot at butchering STAR WARS, if it gets made let it tank like DIAL OF DESTINY…
If you want to make something new, make something new but this is an established story universe.
It’s like Disney buying McDonald’s and turning it into a taco truck franchise so you can try something new. Disney just sucks now.
” If a movie is good I don’t mind different approaches”.
Lore cant have “different approach”. What that means??
Is it like “OK, lets have different approach – We`ll make Star Wars movie, not in space, but in San Francisco in 1980s. There will be no Jedi and Dark side, but LGBTQ resistance against white supremacy. There will be no lightsabers but fight paroles against batons. And it will be story of two brother – Luke and Leia, of course, one is transitioned from Leigh to Leia. And they are best fighters for their community rights. That is the message of Star Wars..:”
Or “Hey, lets make new Star Trek – there will be no Enterprise in space, but old van full of black people who fights for their rights in 1960s western USA. Because those people are looking for the Stars in a new bright future…”
Yep, that is something what is not handcuffed by the lore…
Well we don’t want his Star Wars movie period