Director James Mangold wanted to set his Star Wars movie thousands of years before the existing films because he didn't want to be "handcuffed by so much lore". The A Complete Unknown filmmaker is set to co-write and direct Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi,

James Mangold is taking the phrase, “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away,” quite literally. Mangold’s Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi will be a prequel movie set thousands of years before the Skywalker Saga. Mangold, who will direct Dawn of the Jedi, is excited to tell a new story with his co-writer, Beau Willimon.

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James Mangold, who just picked up a Directors Guild of America nomination for “A Complete Unknown,” recently told MovieWeb that his upcoming “Star Wars” movie is deliberately set thousands of years before any other movie in the long-running franchise so that he doesn’t have to deal with the canon and can thus avoid angering fans.

Previous comments on how James Mangold’s Star Wars movie happened have painted a picture of mutual excitement between the co-writer/director and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. So hearing that Dawn of the Jedi is not only still cooking, but it’s being given the time to do so, is exciting.

Rise of the Jedi', director James Mangold explained that his prequel will deviate from the nearly 50-year old franchise.

The thing James Mangold finds most appealing about his Dawn of the Jedi movie may also allow the film to chart a bold new future for Star Wars.