UPDATED: Taika Waititi, director of “Thor: Ragnarok” and “Jojo Rabbit,” is in early talks to develop a new “Star Wars” movie, Variety has confirmed.
There are no further details about how far those negotiations are with Waititi, nor what his involvement might ultimately be. But hot off of six Oscar nominations for “Jojo Rabbit,” Waititi is one of the most in-demand filmmakers in the industry, and “Star Wars” is “Star Wars,” so there we are.
Waititi, for his part, did appear to respond to reports, with a little help from Fleetwood Mac, in a tongue-in-cheek tweet on Thursday afternoon.
Waititi recently directed the season finale of “The Mandalorian,” Lucasfilm’s breakout series for Disney Plus, and he also played the droid IG-11.
Given his recent history with the “Star Wars” universe, on Monday, Variety asked Waititi if he might be directing a “Star Wars” movie in the future.
“Oh, I don’t know anything about that,” Waititi said. “But ‘Mandalorian’ was my chance to work with some stormtroopers.”
But Waititi said he definitely would want to take the reins of a “Star Wars” movie.
“Obviously I would, but I’m going to just settle for IG-11 being the hero of the entire season,” he said.
Representatives for Disney and Waititi had no comment.
Waititi’s plate is already ridiculously packed. He’s wrapped production on his next directing project, the soccer film “Next Goal Wins” with Michael Fassbender and Elisabeth Moss, and he’ll appear as an actor in “The Suicide Squad” for writer-director James Gunn. His next directing project would likely be Marvel Studio’s “Thor: Love and Thunder,” which is dated for Nov. 5, 2021. And then Waititi is still nominally attached to direct “Akira” for Warner Bros., which could begin production in early 2021.
Should Waititi formally sign on to develop a “Star Wars” movie, he would be the latest in a parade of top-line creatives who’ve been tapped to take a journey into the galaxy far, far away. Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige is developing a “Star Wars” movie, and “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” director Rian Johnson told Variety that he’s still “talking” to Lucasfilm about making more “Star Wars” movies. Last October, “Game of Thrones” showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss exited their deal to make a series of “Star Wars” films for Lucasfilm.
The next “Star Wars” movie has been slated by Disney to open on Dec. 16, 2022.