Back in 2020, the director behind critical hits such as Jojo Rabbit, What We Do In Shadows and box-office juggernaut, Thor: Ragnarok, was announced to be directing an untitled Star Wars film, which he would also write alongside Krysty Wilson-Cairns (1917, Last Night in Soho), and ever since we’ve only received minor updates from Waititi, mostly that he’s in the early stages of the writing process.
Just last month Lucasfilm president, Kathleen Kennedy, told Total Film that Waititi’s Star Wars project was looking to release in “late 2023”. Currently Waititi is on a promotional tour for his much anticipated Ragnarok follow-up, Thor: Love and Thunder, and as expected, the director is being asked about his project set in a galaxy far, far away. Just last week Taika revealed that he will not be filming his Star Wars movie this year due to his very busy schedule, with the director spending the rest of 2022 in New Zealand filming the Time Bandits reboot for Apple TV+ along with the second season of HBO’s, Our Flag Means Death, and that he’s was still in the very early stages of development on his Star Wars movie.
However Waititi has shed a bit more light on where he is in the creative process regarding his Star Wars project in an interview with New York Times. When asked about his Star Wars film, Waititi said, “I’m trying to write the Star Wars idea at the moment. I’ve got to see how that goes, because once I submit it, that might determine when it gets made, or if it’s gets made, even.”
Taika’s comments really do showcase just how premature Kathleen Kennedy’s comments were last month as Waititi reveals that once he’s submitted his idea, that’ll determine when the film could start production. Obviously the most striking line is the Hunt for the Wilderpeople director saying, “if it gets made”, which I’m sure has worried some fans. Given Waititi’s personality and humour, you’d assume he’s joking (or at least I do), but there’s obviously a chance he isn’t. If Lucasfilm disagree with the writer/directors vision of the film then he could be sent back to the drawing board or worse.
Personally I am confident Taika Waititi’s Star Wars project will get made, but I really don’t expect it until late 2024 at the absolute earliest. I’m not in a rush for a new Star Wars movie, and I’m sure many other fans aren’t either given the plethora of Star Wars content we’ve been getting including Obi-Wan Kenobi and The Mandalorian, and what we’ll be getting over the next 18 months – Andor, Ahsoka, The Mandalorian season three, Skeleton Crew, and The Acolyte. I’m more than happy to wait a few more years if that means the writers get more time to perfect the script, and I’ll be lapping up the television series in the meantime.
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