Tag: James Mangold

James Mangold's 'Star Wars: Dawn Of The Jedi' Adds 'Andor' Writer Beau Willimon
Posted on in Film News, News

James Mangold’s ‘Star Wars: Dawn Of The Jedi’ Adds ‘Andor’ Writer Beau Willimon To Help With Script

One of the upcoming “Star Wars” movies gestating at Lucasfilm is a Jedi-origin film taking place 25,000 years in the past with James Mangold (“Logan”) set to direct and write the film. The pic is getting some impressive help on the script as The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that “Andor” writer Beau Willimon (“House of Cards”) is going to co-write alongside Mangold.

Having someone who has contributed to one of the more critically acclaimed “Star Wars” projects is certainly a boom, and we’re all for the “Andor” creative team to have an influence on the feature films. Even more so, “Dawn of The Jedi,” where they won’t be beholden to either the Skywalker Saga or Legends (expended universe source material) as they’ll be sort of creating their own corner of the franchise with a timeline that takes place before The Old Republic or The High Republic. “Dawn” is essentially a blank slate and has an optimistic approach built-in for new things to be created/explored for the Jedi mythos.

It’s unclear when “Dawn of The Jedi” will start filming; the director is busy working with Timothee Chalamet on his dramatic Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown,” which means that they have plenty of time to work on the script. He’s also attached to make a new “Swamp Thing” movie for James Gunn’s newly formed DC Studios as they hope to reset their cinematic universe starting with a “Superman” reboot.

As it stands now, the feature film lineup includes Jon Favreau‘s “The Mandalorian & Grogu,” coming out on May 22, 2026, and the Daisy Ridley-led “Star Wars: New Jedi Order” helmed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (“Ms. Marvel”) is coming out on December 18, 2026. With various projects in the works, including “Dawn of the Jedi,” a mysterious film from Shawn Levy (“Deadpool & Wolverine”), and according to director Patty Jenkins (“Wonder Woman”), her “Star Wars: Rogue Squadron” movie about X-Wing pilots is still alive as she owes the studio a new script.

Mangold’s last feature film took a bit of a bath at the global box office as Forbes reports that “Indiana Jones & The Dial of Destiny” has lost Disney over $130 million. This could make things increasingly difficult for Mangold as he attempts to make an equally expensive “Star Wars” film, hoping to attract a large audience. We’re only bringing this up because Lucasfilm has a habit of bailing on directors who have critical or financial hiccups connected to their movies (Jenkins’ “Rogue Squadron” suddenly had issues and went into creative limbo after “Wonder Woman 1984” failed to click with critics/audiences).

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Film News

‘Logan’ Director James Mangold Tapped For Horror-Centric ‘Swamp Thing’ Movie Based On Alan Moore Run

Earlier this week, the first wave of new DC Studios projects were finally announced and one of the more interesting standouts from that upcoming Gods & Monsters 2025-2027 slate included a horror film focused on the underrated DC Comics character, Swamp Thing. It really didn’t take long for a creative to be attached to the new comic book project.

We ended up seeing director James Mangold (Ford v Ferrari) tweet out a comic book image from Swamp Thing and led to co-CEO James Gunn to retweet that post. Only for the The Hollywood Reporter to reveal that Mangold was indeed in early talks to write/direct a new feature film remake. This news was a bit of surprise that it simply wasn’t mentioned in that big announcement from Tuesday, but neat none-the-less.

Mangold isn’t exactly known for his horror chops but has a fantastic library of pulpy credits which includes two comic book films with the Hugh Jackman-led pics The Wolverine and Logan. The two X-Men films certainly inspired by established comics but also were given a more origin spin by the filmmaker making them slightly more unique. He most recently worked with Lucasfilm’s final installment of the Indiana Jones franchise starring Harrison Ford with Indiana Jones & The Dial of Destiny that is due to be released this July.

Given that the we’re expected to play within the horror genre, we’re hopeful that Mangold will take cues from other body horror movies like The Thing and The Fly for inspiration.

Gunn also recently added on Twitter that the upcoming film will indeed be inspired by the Alan Moore run of the character. Previous comic book properties that have been adapted from Moore’s work consists of Watchmen, From Hell, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and V For Vendetta. However, the writer is well-known as being completely adverse to his source material being touched by Hollywood and likely won’t be supporting this project either.

Swamp Thing isn’t some new undiscovered property but certainly has had an odd go when it comes to live-action adaptations. The 1982 live-action film was written and directed by legendary horror director Wes Craven, that version led to a sequel, television show, and a cartoon series as well. It wouldn’t be until 2019 that producer James Wan (Aquaman) attempted a revival for the now dead DC Universe streaming service via his production company Atomic Monster after a version of Justice League Dark (that would have included the character) fell apart.

SOURCE: THR

Posted on in Film News, News

Disney Bumps ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Release Date From July 2022 To June 2023

A new slew of Disney dates have been updated including a heap of alterations for Marvel’s 2022-2023 lineup. Among the new dates sees Indiana Jones 5 being bumped from a date of July 29, 2022 to June 30, 2023 pushing the film nearing an entire year from it’s most recent spot.

This isn’t terribly surprising as Harrison Ford was injured on set and there had been already a handful of production delays before that making it harder and harder for Lucasfilm and director James Mangold to complete the fifth installment in time for a summer 2022 release, given the post-production process needed to be done once photography was finished.

Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth and Mangold co-wrote the script.

The rest of the cast consists of British actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Solo: A Star Wars Story, Fleabag), Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen (Fantastic Beasts 3, Casino Royale, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Another Round), German actor Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong, Valkyrie, Blade II), Antonio Banderas (Desperado, Uncharted), Boyd Holbrook (The Predator, Narcos, Logan), Shaunette Renée Wilson (The Resident), and Toby Jones (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Captain America: The First Avenger).

SOURCE: DISNEY

Posted on in Film News

‘Indiana Jones 5’: Harrison Ford Reportedly Injures Shoulder During Fight Scene Rehearsal

Indiana Jones 5 started shooting earlier this month at Pinewood Studios and other spots in the United Kingdom, however, there seems to be a bit of hiccup in filming and isn’t related to COVID-19. There is now a report coming from Deadline that Harrison Ford has injured his shoulder during a rehearsal of an upcoming fight scene. Director James Mangold is said to be shooting around Ford until it’s clear what his status and recovery looks like.

Harrison Ford hurt himself rehearsing a fight scene in Indiana Jones 5, sources tell Deadline. The extent of his injury wasn’t immediately known, but it involves his shoulder. Director James Mangold will continue to shoot around him while the appropriate course of treatment is evaluated. The filming schedule will be reconfigured as needed in the coming weeks.

This wouldn’t be the first injury for Ford, as he got hurt shooting J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens and given that he’s 78, various injuries along the way are expected on an action-centric sequel like Indiana Jones 5. Hopefully, Harrison Ford can have a speedy recovery and production can chug along.

The rest of the cast consists of British actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Solo: A Star Wars Story, Fleabag), Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen (Fantastic Beasts 3, Casino Royale, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Another Round), German actor Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong, Valkyrie, Blade II).  Boyd Holbrook (The Predator, Narcos, Logan), Shaunette Renée Wilson (The Resident), and Toby Jones (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Captain America: The First Avenger).

Details have yet to be confirmed but a flashback scene that involves a Nazi train and Toby Jones had been shot recently, something most likely that will end up as the film’s opening sequence echoing Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade.

Indiana Jones 5 is set for release on July 29, 2022.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

‘Indiana Jones 5’: Set Video Confirms Indy Will Face Nazis Again & ‘Captain America’s Toby Jones Joins Cast

After years of delays, script revisions, and director Steven Spielberg exiting, Indiana Jones 5 has finally started filming over in the United Kingdom.

James Mangold is set to write and direct Indiana Jones 5 for Lucasfilm with a growing cast that already consists of Harrison Ford back as Henry Jones Jr. aka Indiana Jones, British actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Solo: A Star Wars Story, Fleabag), Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen (Fantastic Beasts 3, Casino Royale, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Another Round), German actor Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong, Valkyrie, Blade II).  Boyd Holbrook (The Predator, Narcos, Logan), and Shaunette Renée Wilson (The Resident).

There is a set video that was uploaded on YouTube (see below) that seems to show a Nazi train, which would back up recent plot details mentioned by The Illuminerdi that we’ll see the return of the franchise antagonists and the film being connected to Nazi scientists involved with the space race of the 1960s. The last time we saw Indy punching Nazis was all the way back in 1989’s Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade as the setting of Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull taking place post-WWII and it offhandedly mentioned that Jones served during the war between installments.

Well, these off-camera WWII adventures might make it into the fifth installment as Harrison Ford was spotted on set with new addition Toby Jones (Captain America: The First Avenger, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Captain America: The Winter Soldier) with visual effects dots on his face suggesting the sequence might be a flashback. The set photos were spotted on Reddit.

This wouldn’t be the first time this has happened in the franchise, as Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade opened with River Phoenix playing a young Indiana Jones sort of explaining the origin of his iconic hat and whip. Funny enough, that sequence involved a train too.

Confirmed crew members include legendary composer John Williams, production designer Adam Stockhausen (The French Dispatch, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Widows, Ready Player One), and cinematographer Phedon Papamichael (Ford v Ferrari, Walk The Line, 3: 10 To Yuma).

We previously mentioned Lucasfilm is considering to shoot scenes on the East Coast United States.

Disney has chosen to give Indiana Jones 5 a release date of July 29, 2022 and will go head-to-head against Dwayne Johnson’s DC Comics film Black Adam, until one of the two projects moves to another date.

Posted on in Film News

‘Indiana Jones 5’ Begins Filming Next Week At Pinewood Studios UK

James Mangold is set to write and direct Indiana Jones 5 for Lucasfilm with a growing cast that already consists of Harrison Ford back as Henry Jones Jr. aka Indiana Jones, British actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Solo: A Star Wars Story, Fleabag), Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen (Fantastic Beasts 3, Casino Royale, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Another Round), German actor Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong, Valkyrie, Blade II).  Boyd Holbrook (The Predator, Narcos, Logan), and Shaunette Renée Wilson (The Resident).

A new report from Deadline claims that production will begin next week at Pinewood Studios UK.

Steven Spielberg was originally attached to direct Indiana Jones 5, but exited due to script issues and pivoting to his a coming-of age drama inspired by his own childhood. The project stars Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood, Looper, The Batman), Michelle Williams (Venom, Manchester By The Sea), and Seth Rogen (Steve Jobs).

Confirmed crew members include legendary composer John Williams, production designer Adam Stockhausen (The French Dispatch, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Widows, Ready Player One), and cinematographer Phedon Papamichael (Ford v Ferrari, Walk The Line, 3: 10 To Yuma).

We previously mentioned Lucasfilm is considering to shoot scenes on the East Coast United States.

Disney has chosen to give Indiana Jones 5 a release date of July 29, 2022.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

‘Indiana Jones 5’ Aiming To Shoot Scenes On The East Coast

I think we’ve been all waiting long enough for Lucasfilm to finally begin shooting the long-delayed Indiana Jones 5 as they’ve finally started adding new cast members alongside Harrison Ford such as British actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Solo: A Star Wars Story, Fleabag), Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen (Fantastic Beasts 3, Casino Royale, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Another Round), German actor Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong, Valkyrie, Blade II).  Boyd Holbrook (The Predator, Narcos, Logan), and Shaunette Renée Wilson (The Resident).

Lucasfilm is currently in pre-production on the next installment of the Indiana Jones franchise. At the helm is James Mangold, director of the Academy Award-winning Ford v Ferrari, and Indy himself, Harrison Ford, will be back to continue his iconic character’s journey. Indy will begin shooting late spring of 2021 and will arrive July 2022.

James Mangold took-up directing duties once Steven Spielberg exited the sequel and also wrote the latest incarnation of the script.

While the main stage facility is likely going to be Pinewood/Shepperton in the United Kingdom (a UK shoot is confirmed), The Ronin has learned that Lucasfilm is indeed planning to shoot some sequences on the East Coast of The United States, most likely New York/New Jersey. It’s worth mentioning that Yale University was used in Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull to double for Marshall College as they shot other various scenes in Connecticut as well.

This comes after writer and director James Mangold teased on Twitter back January that the film could be taking place in 1960’s era New York City.

MANGOLD: “I’m mentally living in 60’s NYC right now cause that’s where all the movies I’m working on take place.”

Confirmed crew members include legendary composer John Williams, production designer Adam Stockhausen (The French Dispatch, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Widows, Ready Player One), and cinematographer Phedon Papamichael (Ford v Ferrari, Walk The Line, 3: 10 To Yuma).

Disney has chosen to give Indiana Jones 5 a release date of July 29, 2022.

Posted on in Film News

‘Indiana Jones 5’: Director James Mangold To Reunite With Boyd Holbrook As The ‘Logan’ Star Lands Role

There are two more additions to the cast of Lucasfilm’s Indiana Jones 5.

Director James Mangold has reportedly added Boyd Holbrook (The Predator, Narcos) for role after previously working together on the solo Wolverine film Logan, the new comes to us via Deadline. The outlet mentions that The Resident’s Shaunette Renée Wilson has nabbed a role in the sequel as well.

The untitled sequel’s cast also includes franchise star Harrison Ford (said to be his final outing as Indy), British actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Solo: A Star Wars Story, Fleabag), Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen (Fantastic Beasts 3, Casino Royale, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Another Round), and German actor Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong, Valkyrie, Blade II). 

Production is said to take place over the summer with confirmed crew members such as production designer Adam Stockhausen (The French Dispatch, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Widows, Ready Player One), and cinematographer Phedon Papamichael (Ford v Ferrari, Walk The Line, 3: 10 To Yuma).

Disney has given Indiana Jones 5 a release date of July 29,2022 and will go head-to-head with Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam until one film moves to another spot.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Features

An Update On Upcoming Lucasfilm Projects

Back on Star Wars Day aka May The Fourth, we ran an extensive look at the upcoming live-action Star Wars projects. There were a couple of tidbits we’ve learned since then and figured we’d do a follow-up.

It’s well known that active Lucasfilm productions include The Book of Boba Fett (California), Andor (United Kingdom), Willow (Wales), and Obi-Wan Kenobi (California). There is an assumption that things such as Rangers of The New Republic (Jon Favreau set as series showrunner), Ahsoka, and the third season of The Mandalorian will shoot in California given the production hub there seems to be the home base for Disney+ productions from Favreau/Filoni. 

Indiana Jones 5 will be shot in the United Kingdom with James Mangold (Cop Land, Logan) doing double duty as both screenwriter and director after Steven Spielberg exited. Its confirmed production team includes production designer Adam Stockhausen (The French Dispatch, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Widows, Ready Player One), and reuniting with James is cinematographer Phedon Papamichael (Ford v Ferrari, Walk The Line, 3: 10 To Yuma). The untitled sequel’s cast so far includes franchise star Harrison Ford (said to be his final outing as Indy), British actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Solo: A Star Wars Story, Fleabag), Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen (Fantastic Beasts 3, Casino Royale, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Another Round), and German actor Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong, Valkyrie, Blade II). The most recent additions are Boyd Holbrook (Narcos, Logan, The Predator) and Shaunette Renée Wilson (The Resident), as reported by Deadline. 

James Mangold may have teased the 1960s as the setting on social media as concrete plot details have been kept under wraps. The fifth installment is officially set for a release in theaters on July 29, 2022. 

The Andor series is seeming going to get a Season 2. 

Back in March 2019, I was the first to break the news that Lucasfilm was looking to move forward with a second season of The Mandalorian ahead of Star Wars Celebration 2019. Well, I’m also hearing Andor is indeed aiming for multiple seasons as Season 2 is on the table, if not already in development by the creative team. We’re treating as a rumor until there is announcement from Disney/Lucasfilm.

A second season was sort of teased by K-2SO actor Alan Tudyk when he told Collider that his smart-mouthed droid was removed from Season 1 after showrunner Tony Gilroy was brought-on to help with writing.

It remains to be seen if Lucasfilm will attempt to launch splinter/spinoff shows based on the era that Andor takes place as they did with The Mandalorian spinoffs The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and Rangers of The New Republic.

Andor’s Season 1 creative team includes directors Toby Haynes (Doctor Who, Utopia), Susanna White (Our Kind of Traitor), and Benjamin Caron (The Crown) alongside a stellar writing team with Tony Gilroy, Dan Gilroy, Beau Willimon, and Stephen Schiff.

The first season will debut in 2022 on Disney+ exclusively.

Three more Lucasfilm productions are heading to the United Kingdom with the following limited liability corporations The Ronin has uncovered being recently established by the studio. You can see those companies listed below.  

  • GHOST TRUCK 6 UK LIMITED
  • BLUE STOCKINGS UK LIMITED
  • ACE OF HEARTS UK LIMITED

The fact they were just created would mean this would rule out projects in pre-production or currently filming such as the Willow series, James Mangold’s Indiana Jones 5, and Andor series. 

At least one of the three companies is likely linked to Patty Jenkins‘ upcoming Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, the next big Star Wars film should begin shooting by 2022 to hit the December 22, 2023 release date. All of the Disney-era Star Wars films have been shot in the London era making it extremely likely that the next film will continue that established tradition. Patty isn’t new to massive productions shot across the pond, as the filmmaker shot the first two Wonder Woman films on the stages of Warner Bros. Studios in Watford, England. 

Patty is attached to direct Wonder Woman 3 for Warner Bros. but likely won’t be next for her.

The listing of Ghost Truck 6 based on the name alone might be recognizable to Star Wars fans as a potential nod to Star Wars: Rebels, as the ship is called Ghost (featured in live-action projects) and there just happens to be six crew members. However, it’s speculation based on the name as there hasn’t been anyone official confirmation from Lucasfilm that a series will focus on Rebels characters, despite rumblings of the Ahsoka series potentially including them after her being on a mission to find Grand Admiral Thrawn was revealed in the character’s episode in The Mandalorian. The Ghost was spotted in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Ace of Hearts might be the Lando series given the character’s connection to gambling and seduction, then again, could be meant for something else like Rogue Squadron, Children of Blood & Bone, or the High Republic-set series The Acolyte. 

Posted on in Film News

Phoebe Waller-Bridge Officially Joins Harrison Ford In ‘Indiana Jones 5’ – John Williams Returns To Score

Breaking news!

Disney and Lucasfilm has officially announced today that British actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge and composer John Williams have joined James Mangold’s untitled Indiana Jones 5. The news was first mentioned on the Indiana Jones Twitter account with a tweet that you can see below.

Phoebe is likely best known from her series Fleabag and was part of the main cast of Lucasfilm’s Solo: A Star Wars Story. She wrote on No Time To Die and is said to be also working on developing the story/script for the untitled Bond 26, the latter is expected to have a new actor in the role of James Bond. Another interesting project on the horizon is an Amazon Prime Video series reboot of Mr. & Mrs. Smith with Phoebe reuniting with Solo co-star Donald Glover, as the two will take on the roles previously played by Brad Pitt and Angelina in the Doug Liman film.

James Mangold is writing and directing Indiana Jones 5, having previously worked on the X-Men franchise with The Wolverine and Hugh Jackman’s final outing Logan. His other films such as Cop Land, Ford v Ferrari, and Walk The Line have been more grounded which would suggest he’s been brought in to help elevate the final film that will star Harrison Ford.

Details about the film or Phoebe’s role haven’t been shared by Disney. Although, director James Mangold has teased the film will take place the 1970’s.

Production is said to begin sometime this summer.

As stated in the tweet, Indiana Jones will be released on July 29, 2022 going head-to-head with Dwayne Johnson’s DC Comics film Black Adam.

SOURCE: LUCASFILM