James Mangold’s latest blockbuster, “Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny”, might not have blown away the box office during its first weekend but with a worldwide gross of $305 million and counting, there might be some legs in this movie yet. The film serves as a reminder that grand spectacles headlined by an octogenarian might not always be a major draw for audiences. Unfazed, Mangold keeps pushing forward with three projects currently in the pipeline.
These include a Bob Dylan movie with Timothée Chalamet in the lead, a DC project called “Swamp Thing”, and a “Star Wars” film dubbed unofficially as “Dawn Of The Jedi”. This latter piece promises to delve into the creation of the Jedi order, thousands of years before the timeline of “Star Wars: A New Hope.”
During a recent chat on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast, Mangold shared some interesting tidbits about his “Dawn of the Jedi” project. Despite being the one to pitch the idea, he admitted to not knowing exactly where the story fit within the expansive “Star Wars” timeline. To clarify things, he drew on the wisdom of the folks at Lucasfilm to pinpoint the setting as 25,000 years before “Episode I.”
Known for his unique storytelling in franchise work through films like “Logan” and “Dial of Destiny”, Mangold is eager to breathe fresh life into the “Star Wars” universe. He aims to construct a narrative that thrives mostly outside George Lucas’s established canon, being the earliest entry in the Star Wars timeline.
At the moment, Mangold confirmed he hasn’t discussed “Star Wars” with Lucas, but looks forward to doing so once his project ideas are more developed. He was also quite cryptic on whether the words “Jedi” and “midichlorians” would be used in the film, noting however, that his movie represents a period before the creation of the Jedi order.
As the director concludes, viewers could be treated to a unique angle of the “Star Wars” universe—the origins of those who would eventually become the Jedi. Listen to the full conversation on the Happy Sad Confused podcast:
