Star Wars may not be pushing out the constant stream of content that Marvel is producing for Disney, but in the far away galaxy lie plans for a bright future spearheaded by Taika Waititi’s own Star Wars project.
Confirmation of Waititi’s involvement as director in the Star Wars universe came during Disney’s 2020 annual shareholders presentation that outlined the company’s plans for its two most prized assets. Although the news came bundled with a massive wave of Star Wars content heading to Disney Plus for the coming years, the likes Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, The Acolyte, and Lando were all somewhat overshadowed by Waititi and Patty Jenkins mainline film projects.
Now, despite Waititi’s untitled Star Wars movie probably being lined up for a late 2025 release, that doesn’t mean the director isn’t already thinking about it as he recently told Wired during an interview. “It’s still in the ‘EXT, SPACE’ stage”, referring to the industry standard for script formatting, “but we’ve got a story. I’m really excited by it because it feels very me”, a statement that will definitely resonate with many over the possibilities of what Waititi can bring to Star Wars, which in his own words it’s sincerity.
Waititi went on saying he likes “to fool the viewer into thinking ‘ha, it’s this’” and then going a different way to really make the audience feel something, which is precisely the reason some fans might be wanting to see Thor: Ragnarok sprinkled onto Star Wars. The award-winning director will be rather busy for at least a couple of years though, as he is currently working on Love and Thunder which promises even more Waititi-er vibes than any of his other movies.
So far Waititi’s career has followed an unlikely path to success that's as unorthodox as the man himself, managing to make the seamless jump from independent New Zealand director all the way to the grand blockbuster stage that is the MCU, leaving films like What We Do in the Shadows and Jojo Rabbit adorning his impressive resume, plus some pretty good commercials for the likes of Coca-Cola. While the closest movie in sight showcasing Waititi’s equally varied acting talents is Free Guy, his next big feature film is Next Goal Wins, a comedy-drama revolving around American Samoan soccer, so yes, versatility is the name of the game.
On a flashier note more fitting for those that know Waititi for his MCU credential, he is also working on a Flash Gordon adaptation infused with the Waititi spin. Whatever that may be, everyone in Hollywood seems to want a piece of the Waititi touch.
Source: Wired