Andor writer will co-write James Mangold's Dawn of the Jedi movie

As a big fan of Andor, this is some incredibly exciting news to get on a Friday!

The Hollywood Reporter has shared that Beau Willimon will co-write James Mangold's Dawn of the Jedi film. The movie focuses on the origins of the Jedi Order and is set about 25,000 years before the events of the Skywalker Saga. "Dawn of the Jedi" is a working title.

If Willimon's name sounds familiar outside of his work on House of Cards, that is because he wrote all three episodes of the prison arc in Andor, "Narkina 5," "Nobody's Listening," and "One Way Out." The latter of the three garnered Willimon an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series.

Fans and critics alike considered the prison arc one of the best episodes of Andor, thanks to Diego Luna's powerhouse performances as Cassian Andor and Stellan Skarsgård. But it was the standout performance of Andy Serkis' return to Star Wars as Kino Loy that stole the show. His lack of an Emmy nomination was considered a huge snub for the award show.

While I was already excited about the Dawn of the Jedi film and exploring more stories outside of the Skywalker Saga, Willimon co-writing this film just hyped me up even more. I adore the prison arc. It's not just good Star Wars; it's some of the best television episodes made in the last 15 years.

It's such a shame that genre pieces are often considered "lesser" media, because some of the best performances on TV are in the realms of science fiction and fantasy. Shoutout to AMC's Interview with the Vampire which should get so much more awards love. Jacob Anderson, Sam Reid, and Assad Zaman should be rolling in awards with Andy Serkis, Diego Luna, and Stellan Skarsgård. As more high-quality series like Andor are released, hopefully, this stigma against genre media will change.

With Mandgold teaming up with Willimon, perhaps Dawn of the Jedi will also be part of that movement. We'll just have to wait and see.