Taika Waititi (Thor: Love and Thunder, Free Guy) has embarked on a mission of galactic proportions with the Jojo Rabbit director looking to capture the joy of the original trilogy in his upcoming Star Wars film.
Fans of the Star Wars franchise would tell anyone that this is a tall order, but the director seemed pretty confident when discussing the project on The Kelly Clarkson Show.
“I’ve been developing [the Star Wars film] for a few years, but I think with any film, but that one in particular, it’s something I’d really like to get right so I don’t want to rush it,” Waititi said. “It’s going to bubble along on the side.
“I wanna capture that joy and entertainment of those early ones like The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi and all those ones, so I’m trying to figure that out. It’ll happen.”
The film will happen, but not anytime soon, with Waititi mentioning to Entertainment Tonight that his new Star Wars entry is unlikely to hit theatres before he finishes his four ongoing projects, which demand six or seven years.
“I’ve got about four other scripts that I’m trying to finish. My thing is I want to take my time with that and get it right. I don’t want to rush this movie.”
Though this puts the film on a timeline of debuting around 2030, it slightly eases the concern of fans who have been worried if Waititi’s addition to the Star Wars franchise would even happen as years have passed since the project was announced in May 2020, without Lucasfilm showing much progression.
Fans had been left grasping at whatever information Waititi or Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy divulged, and even then, it was not the most assuring.
Kennedy told Variety in April 2023 that Waititi was still “working away” on the film, with the director himself telling The Hollywood Reporter that the story was still missing a middle. This had fans slightly confused as Waititi had told Wired in Aug 2021 that he’s “got a story” locked down. Many wondered if the project would end up on the chopping block like Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige’s (The Marvels, Iron Man) own Star Wars entry which was cancelled after years of receiving similarly few updates.
The top three upcoming films that look to have the most potential in making it out to viewers were unveiled at Star Wars Celebration 2023, though without confirmed titles or release dates.
The first, helmed by Dave Filoni (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Book of Boba Fett) of The Mandalorian and Ahsoka fame, aims to conclude storylines from the respective TV series. The second, directed by James Mangold (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Logan), looks to delve into the origins of The Force.
Lastly, directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Saving Face, Armed With Faith), Daisy Ridley (Ophelia, Peter Rabbit) is slated to reprise her role as Rey Skywalker in a film set 15 years post-Star Wars: Episode 9 – The Rise of Skywalker.
Sasha has been a lover of all things geek since before she could read, having driven her mother up the wall in providing geek material as fast as her daughter could get through them. While Fantasy has been her greatest love, Sasha won’t say no to anything Horror, Action-Packed, or Sci-Fi!
Natalie
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