House Of Cards Creator Writing James Mangold Star Wars Movie, Is The Franchise Actually Recovering?

Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi is currently the working title for the project, which was unveiled last year alongside a slate of other projects. Other than Beau Willimon’s newly announced involvement and James Mangold as director, the project is still largely shrouded in mystery. Needless to say, it will depict an era of the Star Wars universe that has never been seen before.

James Mangold has previously talked about his plans for Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, pitching it as sort of a “biblical epic” that shows where the Force comes from, when it was discovered, and how living beings learned how to use it. It definitely seems like an interesting concept, and Beau Willimon’s involvement will come as good news for fans of George Lucas’s epic franchise. Willimon previously worked on Season 1 of Andor, which many consider one of the best Star Wars projects in recent memory.

Beau Willimon wrote three episodes for Andor Season 1, including the highly-acclaimed prison break episode “One Way Out,” which featured Andy Serkis guest starring alongside series protagonist Cassian Andor (Diego Luna). The episode earned Willimon an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. If Willimon and James Mangold can capture the same magic as Andor, then Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi could be a pretty special project.

Unfortunately, there’s currently no release date for Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, but James Mangold is likely pivoting to the project after finishing filming for the upcoming Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, which stars Timothee Chalamet as the iconic singer-songwriter. Meanwhile, Beau Willimon was reported as a returning writer for Season 2 of Andor, along with Tom Bissell, Dan Gilroy, and series creator Tony Gilroy.

The second season of Andor was delayed due to the writer’s strike last summer, and it’s reportedly shooting for a 2025 release. It’s possible that Beau Willimon may be busy working on the scripts for the second season. Otherwise, he’ll likely be hopping right into Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi with James Mangold once Mangold wraps the Dylan film.

Star Wars has an array of upcoming projects alongside Beau Willimon and James Mangold’s Dawn of the Jedi film. The next film slated for release is Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian & Grogu, which stars Pedro Pascal returning to the titular role in a continuation of the wildly popular Disney+ series. That film is set for a 2026 release, after which we should see a release for the Daisy Ridley-starring film that is set to be directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.

While we wait for these Star Wars films, we can look forward to upcoming shows on Disney+. Skeleton Crew and The Acolyte will both be premiering this year. There’s also the follow-up series to Tales of the Jedi, recently revealed to be Tales of the Empire, which will follow Nightsister Morgan Elsbeth and former Jedi Barriss Offee. 

Source: The Hollywood Reporter