Taika Waiti has been announced as co-writing and directing an upcoming Star Wars film. The announcement from Lucasfilm on the official Star Wars website confirms reports that were circulating this past January that the Jojo Rabbit director/screenwriter was in discussion with the studio for a Star Wars project.
Joining Waititi on scripting duties is Krysty Wilson-Cairns who was nominated for the Best Original Screenplay Academy award this past year for her work on the war film 1917.
Additionally, Lucasfilm confirmed reports from two weeks ago that Russian Doll co-creator Leslye Headland is set to serve as showrunner for a Star Wars Disney+ streaming series.
Waititi is no stranger to the Star Wars galaxy, having directed the first season finale of the Disney+ Star Wars series The Mandalorian, in addition to supplying the voice of assassin-droid-turned-nanny droid IG-11 for the show.
No word as to what Waititi’s film’s storyline may encompass, but that’s not really much of a surprise.
Also not surprising is no release date has been announced for the movie, even though Disney currently has December 16, 2022 set aside for the release of a new Star Wars film. It is conceivable that Waititi’s project might not be the one earmarked for that date. Currently, the director is in post-production for his wartime soccer film Next Goal Wins and most likely will be jumping from the directly into work on Thor: Love And Thunder, as that has a scheduled release date of February 11, 2022. Additionally, Waititi has a War Of The Roses remake on the books with Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Coleman attached to star and has been developing a live-action version of the classic anime Akira for Warner Brothers and a Time Bandits remake for Apple+.
Lucasfilm still has a number of additional irons in their creative fire. Knives Out and Star Wars: The Last Jedi writer/director Rian Johnson is still working on a new trilogy of films of films for the studio. Also, Marvel Studios honcho Kevin Feige has reportedly had talks with Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy about a possible Star Wars project. Additionally, Sleight director J D Dillard and Luke Cage writer Matt Owens are currently developing a new Star Wars project, though it is unknown if it is a theatrical film or a Disney+ series.
