In the latest issue of Production Weekly a mysterious Star Wars production appeared under the title Untitled Star Wars Project which led fans to speculate as to what said project is. Some speculated that perhaps it’s a television series we currently don’t know about, as both Andor season two and Skeleton Crew were listed in the latest issue. And some speculated that the untitled project is actually the Taika Waiti film, and those fans are correct.
According to the listing the untitled Star Wars project is the feature film from Taika Waititi and is currently in active development with its filming location listed as Los Angeles, though no start date was mentioned. If the listing is correct then then Los Angeles location does lead me to wonder if the movie will film at Manhattan Beach and make use of the volume, something Waititi is very familiar with given his work on The Mandalorian and Thor: Love and Thunder. Though it doesn’t escape me that this listing appears less than a week after Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy revealed that Taika Waititi’s Star Wars film is aiming to release in “late 2023”.
It’s also worth noting that Waititi still has a busy year ahead of him. Soon he’ll begin the promotional campaign for Marvel Studios’ Thor: Love and Thunder which releases next month, before he sets off to New Zealand to begin filming on the Time Bandits series for Apple TV+ starring Peter Dinklage this August which films until early 2023. Waititi is serving as the director of the pilot of the Time Bandits series as well as co-writer and executive producer. Before the years end Waititi will also be promoting the film, Next Goal Wins, which is slated to release later this year and premiere at the BFI festival this October.
Though I’m ecstatic to see Waititi’s film, I do find it highly unlikely that the project will begin filming this year and hit the late 2023 release window Kennedy spoke of. I’d love to be proven wrong, but I’m personally not holding my breath for anything sooner than a 2024 release at the earliest.
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