James Mangold is currently working on the script for his upcoming Dawn of the Jedi movie - and now he's finally explained why he made the pitch. Last year, at Star Wars Celebration, Lucasfilm announced three upcoming Star Wars movies. The most exciting of these was the most mysterious, James Mangold's Jedi Origin movie, set in an era Lucasfilm referred to as the "Dawn of the Jedi." Mangold recently revealed that he's currently working on the script with writing partner Beau Willimon, and now he's finally explained what made him pitch this idea to Lucasfilm.
Speaking to Inverse ahead of the release of his upcoming movie A Complete Unknown, Magold explained the pitch. "I pitched it to Lucasfilm because it seemed like an area and a story space where, while there's lore and we certainly would be tying into things that have happened 25,000 years later, there would be the freedom," he revealed. "[There would be] creative freedom to be painting a new Star Wars story on a new canvas." Star Wars canon has only dropped hints about the origins of the Force and the Jedi, meaning he has an unprecedented amount of freedom to tell his own story.
Dawn of the Jedi Will Tell A Story Unlike Anything We've Seen Before
Little is known about the Jedi origin in Star Wars canon. It's true that the old Star Wars Expanded Universe explored this era in detail, including in a fantastic comic book series called "Dawn of the Jedi" - but this was erased from canon shortly after Disney acquired Lucasfilm. Mangold's comments make it clear that he'll be focusing only on lore that's already been established in canon, ignoring the so-called "Legends" version so he can tell a whole new story.
The most important lore was established in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which revealed what Luke Skywalker believed to be the first Jedi Temple. Star Wars has subtly walked back on that since, with last year's Star Wars: Timelines hinting Luke may have been mistaken. What is certain, though, is that the Jedi Temple on Ahch-To contained a mural to the Prime Jedi, the being who founded the Jedi Order. If Mangold is exploring the origins of the Jedi, he must surely tell the Prime Jedi's tale.
Our Take On James Mangold's Dawn Of The Jedi Movie
Easily Star Wars' most exciting upcoming movie
The Dawn of the Jedi era gives Mangold as close to a blank canvas as is possible in Star Wars. That makes it easily the most exciting of all Lucasfilm's projects; it isn't bound up in too much lore, and there's no need for too many direct ties to the Skywalker saga. It's 25,000 years before anything we've seen before on-screen, in an era that's only been teased and hinted at in canon, never explored in full. That prospect makes the so-called Dawn of the Jedi easily the most exciting movie in the works right now.
Source Inverse
Announced at Star Wars Celebration in 2023, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi is a prequel focusing on the first-ever Jedi. Taking place 25,000 before Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Dawn of the Jedi will explore the events set prior to the Old Republic and the Disney+ series, The Acolyte.
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