Taika Waititi has revealed that his long-anticipated Star Wars movie -- announced on Star Wars Day back in 2020 -- still isn't a lock for production.
"I'm trying to write the 'Star Wars' idea at the moment," Waititi said in an interview with The New York Times. "I've got to see how that goes, because once I submit it, that might determine when it gets made or if it gets made, even." Since the initial announcement, rumors have swirled around the project and Waititi has shared many of his Star Wars ideas with the public. With all the hype surrounding the movie, it might come as a shock to many to learn the film hasn't even officially been greenlit.
Fans have reason to be hopeful, however, as Waititi has become a go-to creator for Disney in the last few years, both in front of and behind the camera. In the MCU, he helmed 2017's hugely successful Thor: Ragnarok and he is about to release the much-hyped sequel, Thor: Love and Thunder, in which he plays the character Korg. In the Star Wars universe, he provided voice-acting for and directed an episode of The Mandalorian. Recently, Waititi has even been confident enough to share his plans for Star Wars with a variety of outlets, so it seems a safe bet that his script will eventually be produced.
"I think for the Star Wars universe to expand, it has to expand," Waititi said about his ideas. "I don't think that I'm any use in the Star Wars universe making a film where everyone's like, 'Oh great, well that's the blueprints to the Millenium Falcon, ah, that's Chewbacca's grandmother.' That all stands alone, that's great, though I would like to take something new and create some new characters and just expand the world, otherwise it feels like it's a very small story." Waititi's Star Wars movie was initially set for a 2023 premiere, but it seems that date may now be in question.
The Star Wars franchise has moved away from the movie format in the last few years to focus on bringing shows to Disney+. Obi-Wan Kenobi just finished airing Season 1, and a slew of new shows and new seasons are on the horizon, including Andor and The Bad Batch Season 2. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy recently spoke about the change in focus for the franchise, saying, "We all recognized, everyone single one of us, that this was a new chapter for the company and that we needed to all work together to create the architecture for where we were going."
The entire library of Star Wars content is available on Disney+. Thor: Love and Thunder hits theaters on July 8.
Source: The New York Times