It may house some of the most lucrative IPs of our time, but Lucasfilm certainly wasn’t always the Disney-owned production juggernaut that it is today; may we never forget that Star Wars wasn’t born from a circle of board members who had the privilege of throwing money at things, but rather the creative spirit of one of the sci-fi greats. That alone is perhaps the single biggest reason the franchise boasts the ever-expanding legacy that it does.
Indeed, for brands with such dedicated fandoms especially, it’s of utmost importance that no one involved with such productions forgets where they came from, lest a giant chunk of the magic is lost during the transition from movie to product, as blockbuster films are more and more in danger of with every passing day.
It’s a reality that James Mangold, director of incoming blockbuster Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, is treading with the utmost caution. In an interview with ComicBook, the Logan mastermind divulged his love for working under Lucasfilm, and by extension Disney, noting how the level of trust he’s afforded means he doesn’t have to worry about the loathsome possibility of helming a “committee film,” as he put it.
“Because where big movies can get into trouble is when they become committee films. And we all know what those films feel like and look like and to me, they’re not only, I don’t enjoy those kinds of movies so much, but on another level, I certainly don’t want to make one because I don’t feel connected to what I’m doing. I’m just performing a service, enacting what a committee has come up with.”
We imagine he’s thankful, then, that his Lucasfilm relationship will continue beyond Indiana Jones; the director is set to spearhead a brand new theatrical entry in the Star Wars mythos, described as a “biblical epic” set during the dawn of the Jedi. And given that he’s also been recruited for the DCU’s Swamp Thing film, overseen by a proper creative in James Gunn no less, we don’t think Mangold will have to face his committee film fears any time soon.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is due in theaters on June 30.
Published: Jun 15, 2023 02:03 am