Taika Waititi Shares Disappointing Update on His Star Wars Movie

Director Taika Waititi is about to start an extended run of work within the entertainment industry, which kicks off soon with the July 8 debut of Thor: Love and Thunder. Following this new solo film for the God of Thunder, Waititi will move from the MCU’s galactic story to one far, far away, as he directs his first Star Wars movie.

Waititi already has a round of experience with the Star Wars universe thanks to multiple episodes of work on the franchise’s hit Disney+ series The Mandalorian. He played the assassin droid IG-11 in three episodes from Season 1, and he even pulled double duty by directing “Chapter 8: Redemption” before signing with Disney and Lucasfilm to direct his own movie.

That new Star Wars movie is shrouded in more mystery than most of its galactic counterparts, even though it’s currently set to debut in theaters before the end of 2023. However, that date might be in a bit of jeopardy if Waititi’s latest comments are any indication of how busy he truly is right now.

Waititi Shares Update on Star Wars Adventure

Director Taika Waititi spoke with The Wrap about where he is in the development process for his Star Wars movie.

When asked about when he’ll start working on the project, Waititi admitted that it’s “not this year,” sharing that he’s still working to “figure out what the story is” while working on all of his other movies:

“Not this year. I’m going to be in New Zealand from August until the end of the year with Our Flag Means Death and Time Bandits’and during that time I will still be writing. I’m still trying to figure out what the story is.”

He also chatted with SlashFilm about what he’s bringing to the table with this movie, although it’s still early in the process and he hasn’t completed the script yet. At the moment, Waititi is currently “throwing everything at the wall” to find the right ideas that he can use in the movie:

“No. No, I’m able to kind of bring my tone. At the moment it’s just very early, because I … still haven’t even finished the script. I’m still trying to come up with ideas and I’m mostly kind of in that part of the process where it’s still very kind of open. And when I write, I kind of write every idea I’ve ever had and then start to kind of chisel it down into something. But I’m still throwing everything at the wall right now.”

Only a few weeks ago, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy confirmed that Waitti’s movie is set to release sometime in late 2023.

Waititi’s Star Wars Movie Still A Ways Out

Anticipation is certainly building to see what Taika Waititi can do with a Star Wars movie, going far beyond the fact that he’s been so successful with the MCU. His work on What We Do in the Shadows and his Academy Award from Jojo Rabbit have put him in an elite class of directors, making it even more exciting to see that he’s joining Disney and Lucasfilm.

However, this news is disappointing just for the fact that he’s still so far away from even having a story on paper for the Star Wars franchise. This is unquestionably due to how busy he remains with other entries, going straight into more work after he’s done with the press tour for Marvel Studios’ Thor: Love and Thunder.

Even though this isn’t a great development, Waititi appears free to bring his own unique style of filmmaking to the Star Wars universe when the movie does get written and made. His brand of comedy and drama should fit seamlessly into this expanding story, and there’s no question that he’ll put his best foot forward in his second major cinematic universe.