Taika Waititi claims that his upcoming ‘Star Wars’ film will be more than “people sitting on mountains playing flutes”
Although Taika Waititi’s previous film, Thor: Love and Thunder, was received with mixed critical reception – mainly aimed at his screenplay – that hasn’t stopped Lucasfilm from allowing the filmmaker to direct a new Star Wars movie.
In May 2020, the official Star Wars website announced that Waititi would join forces with Krysty Wilson-Cairns (1917, Last Night in Soho) to write the screenplay for an upcoming live-action instalment in the beloved franchise. The news came shortly after Waititi directed the final episode of The Mandalorian’s first season, the first live-action Star Wars series.
However, despite Waititi possessing an Academy Award for ‘Best Adapted Screenplay’ (Jojo Rabbit), some fans are worried that the director’s Star Wars adaptation will not hit the mark. Still, Lucasfilm has dropped two potential movies in favour of Waititi’s Star Wars instalment – an untitled project by Kevin Feige and Rogue Squadron by Patty Jenkins – which suggests that Waititi must have some exciting ideas up his sleeve.
Some fans are also wary of the fact that Waititi is interested in starring in the film, as he has done in his previous projects such as Jojo Rabbit and Thor: Love and Thunder. Although his unique style of humour often works in his favour, certain Star Wars fans have expressed hesitancy towards him bringing it into the world of the popular franchise.
One Twitter user wrote, “I don’t want Taika Waititi Star Wars movie to be a repeat of Thor: Ragnarok or Thor: Love & Thunder!” followed by, “Please, Lucasfilm, don’t let him mess up this franchise further!”
Yet, in a recent interview with Deadline, Waititi discussed the rumours that he is writing, directing and starring in the new Star Wars movie. He explained, “Yeah, that rumour’s about three years old. All I’ll say is God forbid I make a Star Wars film about people sitting on mountains playing flutes…”
When the interviewer replied, “Well, they kind of went there with the last few Stars Wars movies with Luke Skywalker,” Watiti responded, “Okay, then I won’t do that, for sure.”
The status of Waititi’s project remains uncertain, as does the storyline’s direction, but further news is expected imminently.
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