It is rumored that James Mangold’s Star Wars film focused on the creation of the Jedi Order could begin shooting as early as next year. The rumor comes amid Daisy Ridley sharing that “things are evolving” for her Rey film.
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)
ScreenRant reports that Ridley provided an update on her Star Wars film during an early screening of her recent film Magpie.
She said, “Things are evolving. I continue to be very excited. There will be an update soon.”
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 07: (L-R) Daisy Ridley, Kathleen Kennedy and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy attend the studio panel at Star Wars Celebration 2023 attends the studio panel at Star Wars Celebration 2023 in London at ExCel on April 07, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Disney)
READ: Daisy Ridley Confirms She Still Has Not Read A Script For New Jedi Order Film
It’s unclear what this means, but Ridley has commented throughout the year that she has not seen a script for the film, but choose to return as Rey after hearing a pitch from Kathleen Kennedy over breakfast.
For example, in March she told Collider, “I know a script is happening, and I’m going to be reading it imminently, which is very exciting.”
Daisy Ridley as Rey in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), Lucasfilm
In fact, she claimed then that the film could be shooting either at the end of this year or early next year.
She said, “I think it could be this year. It could be, but I’m not sure. I think to be honest, the writers’ strike has obviously delayed quite a lot of things. So the intention was later this year. Hopefully, it will be. Otherwise, top of next, I would imagine.”
Daisy Ridley as Rey in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), Lucasfilm
READ: Daisy Ridley Rejects Feminist Attack On Star Wars Fans, Claims “Things Get Blown Out Of Proportion”
She previously told AlloCiné that the entire project came together last minute, “Yes, that was actually quite last minute. I was actually making my own film last year and [Lucasfilm President] Kathy Kennedy said she wanted to have breakfast and I thought we were just having breakfast and so I was literally eating my breakfast and she said, ‘Oh, we might do another one.’ I was like, ‘Okay.’”
Ridley continued, “So I thought about it for a little bit. Once I knew what the story was and everything, I knew that it was something I really wanted to do. I think it’s a really fantastic exploration of the Star Wars world.”
“It’s a really cool way of taking the story on in a bit of a different direction,” she added.
While Ridley claimed that her film is evolving, a new rumor from Daniel Richtman via World of Reel claims that James Mangold’s origin of the Jedi Order film could begin filming as early as next year.
World of Reel’s Jordan Ruimy reports, ” Daniel Richtman is saying that after ‘Complete Unknown’ Mangold’s set to shoot his Star Wars movie, “Dawn of the Jedi,” and it could happen as early as next year.”
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)
READ: Daisy Ridley Tamps Down Lucasfilm’s Feminist Push With Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s Rey Film
Mangold’s film was announced back at Star Wars Celebration in 2023. A press release from Lucasfilm said at the time the film would “take audiences deep into the past, telling the tale of the first Jedi to wield the Force and harness it as a liberating power in an era of chaos and oppression.”
In an interview with Gizmodo in June 2023, Mangold shared more details saying, “For me, it’s about, I want to be part of the saga, but I also don’t want to be holding so much lore in the air that you can hardly tell a story,”
He continued, ”And what I really wanted to do, what I told her, was just can we make a kind of the Ten Commandments of the Force, you know? A kind of origin story of how the Force came to be known, understood, wielded, and harnessed.”
Charlton Heston as Moses in The Ten Commandments (1956), Paramount Pictures
Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy also previously shared details about the film and how it connected to Ridley’s New Jedi Order film. She told Entertainment Weekly’s Dagobah Dispatch, “We’ve been talking a lot about going well into the past and one of the things that’s really knitting this all together, obviously, are the Jedi. What happened with the Jedi overtime, much like history? How did the Jedi evolve? They were wiped out with Order 66 then they gradually have been coming back. The question that we’re going to ask with New Jedi Order and with Rey is: Does the galaxy need them anymore? Do they want them back?”
“So there’s a lot of food for thought in what we’re doing whether it’s in the past, present, or future,” she said.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MAY 23: (L-R) Leslye Headland, Dave Filoni, Chief Creative Officer, Lucasfilm and Kathleen Kennedy, President, Lucasfilm attend the launch event for Lucasfilm’s new Star Wars series The Acolyte at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California on May 23, 2024. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)
READ: New Star Wars Rumor Claims Daisy Ridley’s Rey Is Killed In Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy New Jedi Order Film
Kennedy also informed Games Radar, “I think what’s always great about Star Wars is it’s a big galaxy, and we’re coming off what was a major war with the First Order. And now, Rey has made a promise to Luke and that’s really the core of where we’re going and what this story will be.”
She continued, “And I think it offers just tremendous opportunity to introduce new characters and start with something fresh, because we culminated with what George [Lucas] was creating, and now we take all of that and move it to the next chapter.”
These themes are supposed to tie-in to the announced James Mangold film. Kennedy explained, “It was something that Jim [Mangold] immediately sparked to, and I think it’s a really nice compliment to what we’re doing with moving into the future with Rey, and then understanding a bit more of where this all came from. Because it will be at the heart of creating the new Jedi Order, so to get a real sense of where that might have began with the dawn of the Jedi could be pretty cool.”
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 15: Kathleen Kennedy arrives at the special 3-episode launch event for Lucasfilm’s original series Andor at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California on September 15, 2022. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)
What do you make of Mangold’s film reportedly being moved ahead of Ridley and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s New Jedi Order film?
NEXT: Rumor: Lucasfilm’s Daisy Ridley Rey Star Wars Film Will Be Titled ‘Star Wars X – A New Beginning’
