Right now, the future of Star Wars feels more up in the air than it has in a while. Much of that has to do with the fact that Disney and Lucasfilm haven't released a feature film set in a galaxy far, far away on the silver screen in over five years. The last time that happened was 2019's Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker, which wrapped up the sequel trilogy and the larger Skywalker saga with it. Since then, many films have entered development, and none have made it to the finish line.

One of the most fascinating films currently on Lucasfilm is Tentatively titled James Mangold's Dawn of the Jedi. which will explore the origins of the Jedi. The film was first announced nearly two years ago, though Mangold has been slowly plugging it behind the scenes. Speaking in an interview with MovieWeb to promote his Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown , the Logan and Walk the Line director offered a bit of an update on his Star Wars project:

"For me, the really important aspects are the freedom to do something new. "Bo and I, on Star Wars, we've been working on a script and we'll see what happens (...) find a way on the page to say something original?"

"Beau" Mangold refers to is Beau Willimon, who wrote the Emmy-nominated "Andor" episode "One Way Out." Last year he was brought on to co-write the film with Mangold. Speaking further on the matter, Mangold explained that what he finds most appealing about his development of a Star Wars film is that he won't be constrained by continuity, which he finds liberating. As he said:

“The Star Wars movie (I'm working on) would take place 25,000 years before all the famous Star Wars movies took place. It's an area and a playground that I've always (wanted to explore) and that I was inspired by as a teenager, I'm not that interested in being handcuffed by so many habits at this point that it's almost immobile and you can't please anyone ".

One of the problems that a lot of Star Wars media has faced in the Disney era is that it very much exists in the shadow of what came before. People generally love The Mandalorian, for example, but it still operates on the fringes of what's familiar; namely, it overlaps with the Skywalker Saga timeline at a time when the Empire is defeated but continues to exist in some form. The show's ability to tell new stories in a recognizable context is probably why 'The Mandalorian and Grog' will be the next Star Wars film to hit theatersoffering the franchise a somewhat safe return to the big screen.

That's not to say the property hasn't attempted anything far from The Skywalker Saga before. The Disney+ series The Acolyte was set during the High Republic erawhich is set hundreds of years before the events of Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace. But what Mangold is talking about is going back a full 25,000 years, which is an incomprehensible amount of time. At that point in Star Wars history, the universe would look very different, so much so that it would make it impossible for the film to directly reference anything familiar in the franchise. It would, in that sense, be completely clean.

At the same time, Mangold will have the benefit of being able to break down the origins of the Jedi, making his film instantly familiar in a sense even to casual fans. It could also offer Lucasfilm a chance to finally do something truly fresh. By reaching into the distant past, Star Wars may be able to create a bold future. Of course, whether this film will see the light of day or not is a completely different matter. In recent years, quite a few Star Wars movies have fallen apart in pre-production. In addition, there are several other Star Wars movies moving forward right now, including the trilogy led by Simon Kinberg ("Dark Phoenix"). On top of all that, Mangold is a very busy man, as he is also set to direct a Swamp Thing movie for DC.

Still, it's clear that Lucasfilm wants to work with Mangold, especially in this franchise. After all, he was previously set to direct the Boba Fett movie before it fell apartso there's obviously a lot of mutual interest there. Here's hoping the pieces fall into place as the development process continues.

James Mangold's Star Wars movie currently has no release date, but stay tuned.