This is not a drill, friends:Taika Waititiis confirmed as the director on a newStar Warsmovie. The news arrives on Monday, May 4, one of the most exciting days in theStar Warsfandom and just a few months after fans got to enjoy Waititi in droid form on Disney+ original seriesThe Mandalorian. So, what exactly do we know so far about this new Waititi-directed movie?
According to a press release from Walt Disney Studios, we’ve gotten only the barest of details about this new movie. Waititi, who won an Oscar earlier this year for Best Adapted Screenplay for his work onJojo Rabbit, will be co-writing the script for thisStar Warsmovie in addition to direction. He won’t be going it alone, though. Joining him in scripting this new movie is fellow recent Oscar nomineeKrysty Wilson-Cairns, who is best known for her work co-writing1917. Other than confirmation of the director and screenwriting team, we have no idea what to expect from this new movie in terms of plot, casting, or even a filming schedule.
We reported back in January of this year onWaititi possibly directing a newStar Warsmovie. At the time, theJojo RabbitandThor: Ragnarokdirector was reportedly just in talks for returning to the Lucasfilm branch of the Disney family tree. It was thought that, if he did take on directing a newStar Warsmovie, it would be filmed after he finished work onThor: Love and Thunder. However, no official release date has been set for this newStar Warsmovie, which means we can’t get a good grasp on when Waititi and his team plan to start shooting.
Given Waititi’s creative prowess and popularity with fans, him boarding the nextStar Warsmovie and helping chart a course for life post-Skywalker saga is an exciting and solid decision. It’s well-known at this point Waititi leans towards an improvisational style, allowing actors some room to play with dialogue while shooting and see where things go. While it certainly makes for some fun results (it certainly helped freshen up Thor’s MCU arc inRagnarokand engage fans in a new way), will this kind of directing style be entertained at Lucasfilm? Especially considering the last time there were reports of improving on set and encouragement of comedic performances, the year was 2017, the movie wasSolo: A Star Wars Story, and the directors werePhil LordandChris Miller— andwe all knowhowthat turned out. Given Waititi’s pre-existing relationship with both Lucasfilm and Disney, through his work onThe Mandalorianand over at Marvel Studios, his creative process is not necessarily unfamiliar or unknown. Still, given Lucasfilm’s history with directors trying to takeStar Warsin new directions — whatever those may be — it will be interesting to see how this project develops.
For more on all thingsStar Wars, catch up on the additionalnew original series in developmentfromRussian Doll’s Leslye Headland, our round-up ofall theStar Warscontent on Disney+ right now, and Collider’s own Adam Chitwoodranking everyStar Warsmovie(so far).
