1985–2010 In 1985, Mangold secured a writer/director deal at
The Walt Disney Company. While there, he studied under film director
Miloš Forman who helped him develop the scripts for
Heavy and
Cop Land. He has worked as a feature writer and director since 1995, when his first feature, the independent film
Heavy, won the best directing prize at the
Sundance Film Festival. Mangold subsequently wrote and directed
Cop Land (1997), starring
Sylvester Stallone,
Robert De Niro,
Harvey Keitel, and
Ray Liotta;
Girl, Interrupted, which won the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1999 for
Angelina Jolie;
Kate & Leopold, starring
Meg Ryan and
Hugh Jackman, for which Jackman was nominated for a Golden Globe as best actor in a musical or comedy in 2001, and the 2003 thriller
Identity which starred
John Cusack. In 2005, Mangold co-wrote (with
Gill Dennis), produced (under his production banner, Tree Line Film), and directed
Walk the Line, a film about the young life of singer-songwriter
Johnny Cash and his relationship with
June Carter Cash. Starring
Joaquin Phoenix and
Reese Witherspoon, it was released on November 18, 2005, to positive reviews and grossed $187 million worldwide. It was nominated for five Oscars and Witherspoon won Best Actress for her performance as June Carter Cash. Mangold also appeared as an actor in
The Sweetest Thing as a doctor and love interest to
Christina Applegate as well as in his own
Kate & Leopold playing a movie director. In 2007, Mangold directed the
Western 3:10 to Yuma, starring
Russell Crowe and
Christian Bale; it received positive reviews and grossed around $71 million worldwide. In 2010, he directed the
action comedy Knight and Day, starring
Tom Cruise and
Cameron Diaz; which received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $262 million worldwide.
2013–present to promote
The Wolverine, 2013 In June 2011, Mangold was hired, initially just to direct the X-Men movie
The Wolverine. Along with screenwriters
Christopher McQuarrie,
Scott Frank and Mark Bomback, Mangold also adapted the screenplay based upon
Frank Miller and
Chris Claremont's
Japanese Wolverine saga and entered production in Japan and Australia in July 2012. He completed photography in November of the same year. On release, it was a box office success, ending up with a worldwide gross of $414,828,246 with a budget of $120 million, according to
Box Office Mojo. Following the box office success and moderate critical response to
The Wolverine, Mangold signed on to write the story and direct the sequel,
Logan (2017). The film marked Mangold and Jackman's third collaboration. Scott Frank was hired to return as co-screenwriter, working as a team with Mangold and Michael Green. The development of the film was lengthy, with Jackman citing his and Mangold's desire to do the character justice for his last time in the role. The film incorporated elements from
Mark Millar's
Old Man Logan run on the comics. Mangold has stated that the plot primarily focuses on character development, rather than superhero spectacle.
Logan was a commercial success, and received high praise for its gritty approach on the titular character and emotional depth. Often called one of the
greatest superhero films of all time, the movie also earned an
Academy Award nomination for
Best Adapted Screenplay, becoming the first live-action superhero movie to be nominated for Adapted Screenplay, as well as Mangold's first Oscar nomination. In February 2018, it was announced that Mangold was set to direct a film about the
1966 24 Hours of Le Mans, with
Christian Bale and
Matt Damon starring as
Ken Miles and
Carroll Shelby respectively, and
Jez Butterworth,
John-Henry Butterworth and
Jason Keller writing the script. The film, titled
Ford v Ferrari, was released in November 2019 to critical acclaim and became a box office success, grossing $225 million worldwide. The film received 4 nominations including
Best Picture, with two wins for
Best Film Editing and
Best Sound Editing at the
92nd Academy Awards. In February 2020, it was announced that Mangold was in talks to direct the then untitled fifth film in the
Indiana Jones franchise, later revealed to be titled
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, taking over for
Steven Spielberg, who directed the first four films in the franchise and instead served as one of the executive producers. In May 2020, it was officially confirmed that Mangold would serve as director. Filming began in the United Kingdom in June 2021, and wrapped in February 2022. The film was released on June 30, 2023. In early 2020 Mangold was announced to direct the
Bob Dylan biopic
A Complete Unknown with
Searchlight Pictures distributing, starring
Timothée Chalamet. Despite production delays due to the
COVID-19 pandemic and Mangold committing to
Indiana Jones, Chalamet told
Variety in November 2022 that he was still preparing for the role and that "the winds that are blowing are blowing in a very positive direction". In April 2023, Mangold confirmed that the film would likely begin production in August of that year, before plans were suspended in July due to the
2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Filming eventually began in March 2024 and wrapped in time for a December release.
Upcoming projects In February 2023, Mangold was reported by
The Hollywood Reporter to be in early talks to write and direct a film based on the
Swamp Thing, as part of
James Gunn's and
Peter Safran's newly announced "Chapter One: Gods and Monsters" film slate for the
DC Universe (DCU), after the releases of his
Indiana Jones film and Bob Dylan biopic. Two months later in April, Mangold confirmed that he had been hired to write and direct a
Swamp Thing film, with Gunn soon confirming that he approached Mangold to do the film upon charting the DCU's storylines, describing the film as a passion project of Mangold's. In April 2023, during
Star Wars Celebration Europe IV,
Lucasfilm announced Mangold's involvement as director of a future
Star Wars film whose story "will go back to the dawn of the
Jedi" and explore the origins of
The Force, set around 25,000 years before the events of the
Star Wars prequel trilogy. In August 2025, it was announced that Mangold would reunite with Chalamet for a film called
High Side. The film will be written by Jaime Oliveira and distributed by
Paramount Pictures. In September 2025, it was announced that Mangold had secured a deal to "develop, direct and produce feature film projects" with Paramount. When asked by
Io9 on whether this would affect the production of his
Star Wars film and
Swamp Thing, Mangold's representatives replied that he remained attached to both projects, to which they cited how
J. J. Abrams managed to direct
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) for Disney while under a deal with Paramount or
Tom Cruise currently signing a deal with
Warner Bros. while developing a
Top Gun: Maverick (2022) sequel to suggest that Mangold may focus on the films as planned even though he would likely focus on
High Side and his other further Paramount collaborations first. ==Style==