Skip to main content

Taika Waititi tapped to direct new Star Wars movie

Academy Award winner Taika Waititi will direct and co-write a new Star Wars movie, Disney and Lucasfilm announced on Monday.

The Jojo Rabbit writer and director is no stranger to the Star Wars universe, having already directed the season 1 finale of The Mandalorian. The announcement of his attachment to the project was made on Star Wars Day, which is celebrated by fans of the sci-fi saga each year on May 4.

According to StarWars.com1917 and Last Night in Soho screenwriter Krysty Wilson-Cairns will join Waititi in penning the script for the Star Wars film, which has not been given a release date at this point.

The film will, however, receive a theatrical release and not be released directly to the Disney+ streaming service.

Waititi’s attachment to an upcoming Star Wars movie was first reported back in January, and official confirmation of the project was accompanied by confirmation of another rumored project, too.

Waititi — who has become one of Hollywood’s most sought after directors — rose to stardom after his turn behind the wheel as director of Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok, which transformed one of the MCU’s more melodramatic heroes into a comedic goofball to the delight of audiences and critics.

His skills directing both comedic and heartfelt, earnest moments make him an enticing choice to bring something new to Star Wars’ next film. While Disney’s The Mandalorian was a certified hit, the last theatrical release, The Rise of Skywalker, was met with tepid reviews and lukewarm audience reaction. It became the least profitable of Disney’s Star Wars sequel trilogy, according to Deadline.

Following an unconfirmed April report that Russian Doll creator and showrunner Leslye Headland was developing a new Star Wars series, Disney and Lucasfilm announced that series is headed to Disney+.

Although no premiere date was given for the project, it will join the three Star Wars series already in the works for the streaming service: The Mandalorian (which will return for a second season in October), the untitled Obi-Wan Kenobi series, and an untitled series based on actor Diego Luna’s Rogue One character, Cassian Andor.

Both the Obi-Wan series and the Cassian Andor series are currently on hold in various stages of development and production due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Editors' Recommendations

The 5 best movies set in space, ranked

Humanity has long dreamt of what life would be like off planet Earth, so some of the most popular and gripping films of all time have been known to take place in outer space. Whether they're fantastical sci-fi adventures or real-life accounts of humanity's journeys through the cosmos, space movies have succeeded in getting audiences to fill seats at the theaters.

So as humanity grows closer to colonizing the stars, here's a look back at the greatest films that have inspired everyone to look up at them and dream.
5. WALL-E (2008)

Read more
Mando and Grogu reunite in The Mandalorian season 3 trailer
A Mandalorian walks next to Grogu in The Mandalorian season 3.

Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal from The Last of Us) and Grogu reunite and navigate the galaxy in the new trailer for The Mandalorian season 3, which Lucasfilm released during Monday night's NFL playoff game.

At the end of season 2, Mando left Grogu in the hands of Luke Skywalker (Star Wars' Mark Hamill). However, the bounty hunter and "Baby Yoda" reunited in The Book of Boba Fett. In season 3, Mando and Grogu head to Mandalore so that Din "may be forgiven for his transgressions." According to the logline, Mando will encounter other Mandalorians as he crosses paths with "old allies and makes new enemies as he and Grogu continue their journey together."

Read more
Beyond The Bad Batch: what’s next for Star Wars animated shows
The members of Clone Force 99 in promo art for Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 2.

The Star Wars universe continues to expand its galaxy far, far away on Disney+ with supplemental content like the animated show The Bad Batch. Season 2 has just premiered on the streamer, continuing the intimately scaled and daring missions of the titular band of veterans formerly known as Clone Force 99.

The show has proven to be promising so far. Still, other animated works under the Star Wars corner of Disney have given fans a taste of how versatile it can be both conceptually and artistically. Visions was an anime spin on the mega-franchise, providing stylistically distinct approaches to it in a sort of "what if?" narrative format. This would be an exciting template for exploring the Legends continuity stories -- formerly known as the Expanded Universe -- that captivated so many longtime fans.
Capitalizing on the growth of animation

Read more