Rogue Squadron movie could breathe new life into Star Wars by exploring non-Jedi aspects of the galaxy. Audiences are growing tired of repetitive Jedi-centered stories; there's a need for more diverse narratives.

From Japanese samurai flicks to gritty war movies, the visual language and tonal atmosphere of Star Wars is rooted in decades upon decades of film history. Here are 32 movies that inspired Star Wars creator George Lucas, as well as his many successors.

While not much is known about the plot of James Mangold‘s upcoming Star Wars movie, it has been confirmed that it will take place 25,000 years before the events of A New Hope. In a recent discussion,

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.

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.

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.