Director James Mangold's Star Wars Movie Just Landed The Writer Of Andor's Best Episode

One of several "Star Wars" movies currently in development at Lucasfilm just took a major step forward. Writer Beau Willimon is now set to co-write director James Mangold's upcoming adventure in a galaxy far, far away. Willimon will pen the script alongside Mangold for what is tentatively titled "Dawn of the Jedi", which was first announced last year during Star Wars Celebration.

The news comes to us from The Hollywood Reporter. Willimon is perhaps best known for creating Netflix's "House of Cards." However, "Star Wars" fans will know him best as one of the writers of "Andor," the much-acclaimed Disney+ series about Cassian Andor. Most notably, he penned the episode "One Way Out," which is widely considered to be one of the best episodes of television in the history of the franchise. Willimon was nominated for an Emmy for his work on the episode. Now, he's getting the chance to tackle a movie. Not just any movie either, but one that will show us the very beginnings of the Jedi thousands of years before the events of the original trilogy.

"Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi" (which is still just a working title), is said to take place 25,000 years back in the timeline, showcasing the origins of the Force. So this will be very far removed from any of the characters or storylines we've seen in any movies or TV shows up to this point. 

There is no word yet on casting or how soon production will start. Mangold, known for his work on movies like "Logan" and "Ford v Ferrari," is expected to turn his attention to this project once he finishes his Bob Dylan biopic "A Complete Unknown." Mangold is a busy guy though, as he's also set to write and direct a "Swamp Thing" movie for DC Studios.

This is just one of several "Star Wars" movies that Lucasfilm has in development right now. Next up will be "The Mandalorian & Grogu," which will take the characters from the small screen to the big screen. Jon Favreau is directing the movie, which Disney recently gave a 2026 release date. It will be the first movie in the franchise since 2019's "The Rise of Skywalker." Elsewhere, Lucasfilm Chief Creative Officer Dave Filoni is working on a film that will presumably tie together all of the shows in "The Mandalorian" universe.

As for Willimon, this move demonstrates a show of faith by Disney and Lucasfilm. They clearly liked what he did with "Andor," so much so that they're now entrusting him to help firm up the origins of the Jedi and the Force. Speaking with /Film in 2022 as "Andor" season 1 was airing, Willimon explained that there are many ways to interpret this universe, but it all comes down to telling a good story.

"It's a work of fiction, and so first and foremost, we're just trying to tell a good story. Now, people have interpreted 'Star Wars' in all its iterations in any number of ways going back to the year I was born, 1977. And I think it's a credit to George Lucas and everyone that's worked on 'Star Wars' stories since that it's such a vast world open to interpretation that you can have a lot of interesting and healthy discussions stemming from the storytelling."

James Mangold's "Star Wars" movie does not currently have a release date.