The marriage of Taika Waititi and a feature-length Star Wars film has lasted for years. Although Taika Waititi’s Star Wars film was first confirmed in 2020, the project picked up steam this year when Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy announced they were targeting a 2023 release date. Known for his unique style of heartfelt humor, Waititi had previously demonstrated his Star Wars skills on The Mandalorian, where he voiced the droid IG-11 and directed the pivotal season one finale.
While much of the storyline is under wraps, in a recent interview with TotalFilm, Waititi expressed a desire to bring new characters and storylines to the galaxy:
“Look, I think for the Star Wars universe to expand, it needs to expand. I don’t think I’m going to be of any use in the Star Wars universe if I make a movie where everyone’s like, ‘Oh great, those are the Millennium Falcon blueprints, ah, that’s Chewbacca’s grandmother.’ It all stands on its own, which is great, although I’d love to take something new and create some new characters and just expand the world, otherwise it feels like a very small story.”
Taika Waititi attends the UK Premiere of Disney Pixar’s ‘Lightyear’ on June 13, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures UK)
It seems we are living the golden age of Taika Waititi. His new movie ‘Thor: In Love and Thunder’ opens in cinemas on July 8th. ‘Reservation Dogs’ A series produced by Waititi Executive Produces that follows four Indigenous teenagers living on an Oklahoma reservation will have its second season on Hulu in August. Queer Pirate Romance ‘Our flag means death‘, which Waititi both executive produces and stars in, was recently renewed for a second season on HBO Max. While his busy schedule means an influx of content for us, he is concerned about the progress of his Star Wars film.
In an interview with The Wrap last week, Waititi confirmed his film isn’t as far along as some might have hoped. When asked about the 2023 release date Kennedy spoke of earlier this year, Waititi replied:
“Not this year. I’ll be in New Zealand with Our Flag Means Death and Time Bandits from August through the end of the year and will be writing during that time. I’m still trying to figure out what the story is.”
And then Waititi dropped another bombshell earlier this week, speaking to the New York Times:
“I’m trying to write the ‘Star Wars’ idea right now,” he said. “I’ll have to see how that goes because once I submit it, that could dictate when it gets done or even if it gets done.”
While Waititi seems to have cast a shadow over his project’s future, Lucasfilm hasn’t said anything suggesting the project will be delayed or canceled. While there may be some wait before we can enjoy Star Wars back in theaters, there’s still a slew of streaming content holding us back, including “Andor‘, which will premiere later this summer.
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