While Lucasfilm scrambles to do damage control after the "rumor" leaked that all further Star Wars spin-off stories were put on hold following the BTS strife and BO disappointment with Solo (a leak they've denied up and down), certain talented individuals have taken to bullhorning their opinions in the digital streets regarding both the franchise's future and fanbase.
One of the more vocal artists is James Mangold, who was supposedly going to be making a stand-alone Boba Fett movie (which many were, uh, slightly skeptical of). Just last week, the Logan visionary got into it on Twitter regarding the toxicity of SW fandom, saying:
At the point when work writing & directing big franchises has become the emotionally loaded equivalent of writing a new chapter of The Bible (w/ the probable danger of being stoned & called a blasphemer), then a lot of bolder minds r gonna leave these films 2 hacks & corp boards.
— Mangold (@mang0ld) July 5, 2018
When the goofballs who take these sort of space wizard stories too seriously interjected, Mangold had some choice words for them:
If you feel that is the case, if u feel the film makers are just corporate tools and powerless, then why bitch at us? In the case of @rianjohnson and @chrismcquarrie, i assure you these cats are not “owned”. They actually fight your battles behind the scenes.
— Mangold (@mang0ld) July 5, 2018
Mangold even eased off of his 360 windmill dunking mode to calmly explain (and even empathize) with some who were @'ing him (which in this day and age is an act of near Herculean grace):
The fervor of some attacks has an evangelical ferocity. Now, I get it cause for many folk, including me, the SW saga holds tremendous spiritual power, similar to a religious text. But we must remember to try to handle our disappointments the way Yoda might, as opposed to Darth.
— Mangold (@mang0ld) July 5, 2018
However, Mangold's brief civility was curbed when folks just wouldn't get the point, as he shot this savage facial off on July 7th:
Look what I got from a self-proclaimed "lover of life"! Seriously Blackbird, chill. I'm making a period car racing movie w/ Christian Bale & Matt Damon. No Mandalorians involved. Stop reading so much gossip.
— Mangold (@mang0ld) July 7, 2018
Oh, and in my opinion: children in cages = worst idea ever. https://t.co/e7zAa6GmCk
Now, when you take this tweet and combine it with Mangold's previous assertion that "bolder minds" are essentially going to be chased off due to the overzealous (assuming he's lumping himself in with that intellectual categorization), one wonders if his Boba Fett movie ever existed in the first place. While THR reported that he'd signed onto the Boba Fett picture, Mangold referring to his involvement as "gossip" seems to contradict that (unless he simply means the cancellation is hearsay, which would be a tough context to wring from these transmissions).
Either way, the "racing movie" Mangold's referring to is Ford v. Ferrari, the true story of Henry Ford II taking on perennial Le Mans champion Enzo Ferrari, by building an entirely new automobile to challenge the favorite. Ford v. Ferrari stars Matt Damon and Christian Bale - not to mention Jon Bernthal - and is the director's first movie since Logan. In a separate tweet, Mangold confirmed that filming is now commencing on the project:
We start tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/mKo1WLCvJ3
— Mangold (@mang0ld) July 11, 2018
Hell yes, now we just need Michael Mann to finally get his own Ferrari biopic (with Hugh Jackman, no less) rolling so that we have dueling period race car movies. As for Star Wars, we'll just have to see what the hell shakes out, as Episode IX could be a real make or break proposition for Disney/LF, regardless of Mangold's involvement.
To be continued...