Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny director, James Mangold, is next on the docket to make his own Star Wars film, but he has ensured it won't be familiar territory. Two words in particular will have no place in his upcoming movie when it finally reaches the masses.
Setting the story thousands of years before the saga films, the feature will reportedly be about the start of the Jedi Order. But even though there will be force-sensitive characters in the mix, it will be long before such terminology was ever created. While speaking to Josh Horowitz on the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast, the host asked if the words “Jedi” or “Midi-chlorians” would appear.
"I don't wanna make any guarantees one way or another, but it will be before Jedi, meaning you might be experiencing something that might become Jedi," Mangold answered. "Despite the fact that other people make movies other ways, I don't tend to think people brand themselves before they've actually found themselves. So you don't come up with a name for your organization.”
Mangold went on to explain that the cult of the Jedi Order wouldn't be calling themselves that yet or have any idea of how the force worked. No one would be able to have the vocabulary for those types of things. This is the realm that the director seems most interested in. He acknowledged his appreciation for what George Lucas had done, but he wanted to tell a story with emotional stakes. Putting his film so far in the past also meant he wouldn’t be too concerned with sticky continuity errors.
For Mangold, this is the sweet spot. Any fan of his films will recognize he makes a point to go off the beaten path. Instead of making popcorn films palatable to the greater collective, his stories typically veer towards more mature content. As evidenced by the success of Andor, this is the time for these types of stories. Focusing on characters and emotionally resonant stories is what he does best. And when it comes to fruition, it is certain to be unlike any other Star Wars feature film fans have seen.
In the past, Mangold has set himself apart by thinking outside the box. Before he immersed himself into Star Wars and Indiana Jones, he delved deep into the world of X-Men. And he wasn’t out to make a campy ensemble film, either. 2017’s Logan was -- at the time -- Hugh Jackman’s swan song. After caring for his daughter Laura who was a bit too much like himself, Logan sacrificed himself for her and effectively ended the Wolverine mythos. It was an emotionally resonant story about fatherhood and redemption, akin to Westerns of the like. Mangold’s movie became heralded as the best ranked X-Men film, putting him on a course to helm a Star Wars project. But just like his work in other franchises, Mangold would differentiate himself.
Source: Happy, Sad, Confused