Taika Waititi To Direct And Co-Write New ‘Star Wars’ Movie

Patrick Hipes
·3 min read

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Taika Waititi is sticking around in the Star Wars universe, with Disney confirming Monday that he will direct and co-write a new Star Wars feature film for theatrical release. He will co-write the movie with Krysty Wilson-Cairns, who co-wrote Oscar Best Picture nominee 1917 with Sam Mendes.

Waititi, who won an Oscar this year for adapting the screenplay for Jojo Rabbit, which he also directed and which was nominated for Best Picture, already has his hand in the Star Wars game, having directed the season finale of Disney+’s The Mandalorian. He also voiced the bounty-hunter droid IG-11 in the series, which marked the first live-action Star Wars series and has been a big hit, with two more seasons at least on the way.

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There’s no release date for the new movie, but as far back as January that Waititi, who showed his tentpole chops with the hit Marvel pic Thor: Ragnarok, was approached to be involved in a big-screen Star Wars feature.

Waititi’s current directing project is Next Goal Wins for Searchlight Pictures about the underdog American Samoa soccer team. He also has Thor: Love and Thunder, which he wrote and is also set to direct; that movie has a November 5, 2021 release date. Also in the Disney family, he is also behind a Flash Gordon animated film for Fox.

The confirmation of the new pic today by Walt Disney Studios comes on May 4, known as May the Fourth among Star Wars aficionados. The studio also used the day to confirm that Leslye Headland is in development to write, executive produce and showrun a new Star Wars series for Disney+, joining The Mandalorian and two other series: one based on Cassian Andor prior to the events of Rogue One, and the other the Obi-Wan Kenobi series starring Ewan McGregor and set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope in the Star Wars timeline.

After Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker wrapped the nine-film Skywalker Saga storyline last year, the only planned Star Wars movies currently in the works are Rian Johnson’s announced trilogy. Another trilogy that had been announced, from Game of Thrones duo David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, did not end up going forward.

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