James Mangold’s Dawn of the Jedi movie could save Star Wars

This year’s Star Wars Celebration brought exciting new looks at upcoming projects from TV to movies, as well as the announcement that James Mangold (logan, ford v ferrari) will direct a one-of-a-kind origin story set during Dawn of the Jedi. And while the film may be looking to the past, being set 25,000 years before the Battle of Yavin Star Wars: Episode IV – New HopeIt’s already poised to be one of the boldest theatrical premises for the franchise.

Star Wars has always been a universe characterized by enormous potential that has gone surprisingly untapped, with almost endless storytelling possibilities in the distant past and distant future. To address the elephant in the room, Lucasfilm has a poor track record of axing or shelving announced and reported projects late in comparison to actually developing others, but Mangold’s clever The direction could break with tired conventions and pave the way for an exciting Old Republic era. Big and small screen.

breaking away from the skywalker formula

Part of Lucasfilm’s insistence on keeping Star Wars from being narratively ambitious is due to its adherence to Everything Skywalker. It’s no secret that family has been an iconic and fan-favorite part of this franchise’s beloved legacy ever since Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker and James Earl Jones’ Darth Vader first graced the big screen. a new Hope In 1977. But the studio and its creatives can’t let them go – even after 40 years and both rise of skywalker That supposedly ends the story of the family.

Maybe there are stories worth telling from characters like Vader’s perspective, as in the excellent comic book adaptation. Still, Dawn of the Jedi Age will see a period in the Star Wars timeline adapted to the screen that should be refreshing for audiences. Admittedly, it could be a difficult balance maintaining an air of intrigue and mysticism around the Force, while also showing how the first Jedi came to wield it.

The original trilogy did a decent job of doing this, but it seems like The Force becomes less interesting the more the writers try to explain it unnecessarily. Longtime fans won’t soon forget the midi-chlorians of the prequel, which stripped some of its spirituality in favor of genetic sci-fi, but even so, some of Mangold’s past work inspires belief that this “Dawn of The Jedi” movie workspace can be found just fine.

Though a wildly different and intense film, the director’s X-Men venture logan It did an extraordinary job of having an intimate scale and deep emotional core to its story and characters. It was extremely character-driven, and that element may have been key to telling the almost biblical sci-fi epic, which needed a fresh plot and plot to invest in and be influential despite being separated by more than 25,000 years of canon. Artists are needed. Used from Star Wars.

paving the way for the old republic

Mangold’s Dawn of the Jedi-set film could move the needle for Lucasfilm in terms of finally bringing forward major on-screen adaptations of the fan-favorite Old Republic era. Expanded Universe – now known as fables Continuity – had its fair share of blunders, but this period in the lore spawned some of the most beloved stories in the franchise.

Veteran fans will no doubt appreciate BioWare and Obsidian Entertainment knights of the old republic duology, but still expanding old republic MMORPG and The various Star Wars comic book adaptations deserve shout-outs as well. However, despite the wellspring of storytelling potential, this era has been inexplicably ignored beyond a few blink-and-you’ll-miss-it references and Easter eggs.

Perhaps the upcoming PlayStation 5 remake of the first game is a sign of great things to come, but Mangold’s upcoming film could help set the stage for more dramatic and small-screen stories. While it may take place long after Dawn of the Jedi, the Old Republic era still spans thousands of years in the mythos, while also diverging from the Skywalker Saga by centuries.

Origin stories seem to play into the superhero genre, but this upcoming film being more like a “Star Wars origin story” seems anything but conventional to show audiences the stories that have happened in this universe so far. , That sentiment doesn’t seem out of place either, as Star Wars Fest unveiled a new official timeline that acknowledges the Old Republic period between the Jedi and the Dawn of the High.

The depth of content that this era can offer is potentially limitless, as The Old Republic alone could give way to Skywalker-scale sagas in theaters as well as serialized fiction. game of Thrones-Tier Star Wars Drama on TV.

Giving Star Wars Its ‘Event’ Status Back

while like the mandalorian has been an overall success and internal management and As refreshingly compelling as it was, Star Wars seems to have lost its “event” status — and the weight that came with it. Lucasfilm is taking a huge hiatus from the following movies Star Wars: Episode IX – rise of skywalkerSure, but its focus on Disney+ so far hasn’t been as eventful as some might have hoped.