Oscar winning director (for Best Adapted Screenplay, Jojo Rabbit), Taika Waititi will be directing the new Star Wars film.
He will also co-write the film with Krysty Wilson-Cains, writer of the World War I thriller 1917 along with Sam Mendes. Probably best-known for directing Jojo Rabbit and Thor: Ragnarok, Waititi had been rumoured to take the reins of the franchise in January 2020. Now, the official Star Wars site has confirmed the news.
The new Star Wars film will mark Waititi’s second stint with the franchise universe after directing the first season finale of the spin-off series, The Mandalorian for Disney+.
The news of Waititi taking over follows the announcement of the Russian Doll creator Leslye Headland, who is also developing a new Star Wars series for Disney+, which will join a Rogue One prequel series and one focused on the life of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
After Jojo Rabbit, Waititi’s next film will be the football comedy Next Goal Wins, starring Michael Fassbender and Elisabeth Moss. Waititi has earlier reinvigorated Thor: Ragnarok, regarded as the best of all Thor movies and one of the most delightful films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and will also return to the Marvel universe to make Thor: Love and Thunder.
As The Rise of Skywalker closed with one series, there have been a number of changes within the galaxy. Disney earlier had a new adventure slated for December 2022, but then Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and DB Weiss exited the project, which had been rumoured to take that spot.
The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson is still loosely attached to a separate trilogy. In January, he said he was still in discussions with LucasFilm. Till date, the Star Wars films have made over $10bn at the worldwide box office.
