James Mangold Rumored To Consider Leaving Dawn of the Jedi

A new Star Wars movie could lose its director to one of James Gunn’s DCU movies, as a new rumor alleges the filmmaker will decide soon.

At Star Wars Celebration 2023, Lucasfilm announced 3 new feature films set during different eras of the franchise. One of those new Star Wars movies is being written and directed by James Mangold, the acclaimed filmmaker behind Logan, and the recent Oscar-nominated Bob Dylan biographical drama, A Complete Unknown. Mangold’s Star Wars movie is set roughly 25,000 years before the prequel trilogy during the ‘dawn of the Jedi’ period and explores the origins of the Force. At the same time, Mangold was attached to write and direct a Swamp Thing movie that would be part of Gunn’s DC Universe. An insider now claims he will soon choose which of the two will be his next project.

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On John Rocha and Jeff Sneider’s The Hot Mic, the two discussed the reported contenders to direct the DCU Clayface movie written by Mike Flanagan. The storyline similarities between the DCU’s Clayface movie and Swamp Thing prompted Sneider to speculate that Gunn may have moved up the former project because he believes he may not be able to get Mangold to ‘take notes’ from him. Sneider said this is ironic, as he was told that Mangold is more passionate about the Swamp Thing movie than Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi. While this doesn’t necessarily mean Mangold will exit Dawn of the Jedi, Sneider said Mangold will decide whether or not to “press ahead” with the Star Wars movie in the “next couple of weeks,” as it’s a multi-year commitment.

Some Reddit users were skeptical of Sneider’s claims, arguing Mangold has been working on the Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi script for years and there hasn’t been a significant update on Swamp Thing in ages. However, most agreed that if Sneider’s claims are true and Mangold decides to exit Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, it would be a devastating blow to Lucasfilm. Since Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was released in theaters in December 2019, Lucasfilm has had difficulty moving a Star Wars film from development to production. From Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron to Kevin Feige’s untitled Star Wars movie, several feature films in the franchise have been scrapped, shelved, or given no significant update. Daisy Ridley’s New Jedi Order Star Wars movie recently landed a new writer, postponing the film’s production start for the foreseeable future.

Mangold’s exiting Dawn of the Jedi would be disappointing because the director has a resume of acclaimed films and fans were excited to see his talent applied to the Star Wars franchise. His work on Logan demonstrated his ability to breathe new life into an established franchise and eschew standard superhero tropes in favor of a character-driven story. Of course, it should be noted that Mangold could decide he wants to move forward with Dawn of the Jedi, which was reportedly eyeing a 2025 production start. Even if Mangold chooses to move forward with Swamp Thing, he could return to Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi as his next project. It’s too early to tell, and if Sneider’s words ring true, fans will find out what Magold has planned soon.

Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi is in development at Lucasfilm.

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Source: The Hot Mic