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Marvel's Taika Waititi to direct and co-write new Star Wars movie for Disney
Lucasfilm's first Star Wars movie, post-The Rise of Skywalker, will be directed by Taika Waititi. The news was first broken by StarWars.com. How's that for a May the 4th surprise?
Rumors about this began to crop up earlier this year, but Waititi denied them in February. It was most likely a diversionary tactic as talks were probably still ongoing at that point. The MCU vet is also penning the screenplay with Krysty Wilson-Cairns, Sam Mendes' fellow scribe on the Oscar-winning 1917. She also co-wrote the script for Edgar Wright's upcoming Last Night in Soho.
Waititi already has an intimate relationship with the galaxy far, far away, having directed and starred in Season 1 of Jon Favreau's The Mandalorian on Disney+. On the show, he played IG-11, an emotionless bounty hunting droid that goes from trying to kill Baby Yoda, to eventually sacrificing himself to save the child in the season finale.
The filmmaker, who was skyrocketed into global fame with the release of 2017's Thor: Ragnarok, recently won his very first Oscar for adapting the screenplay of Jojo Rabbit. He's also helming the sequel to Ragnarok—Thor: Love and Thunder—which is headed for release on Feb. 11, 2022.
No title, plot details, or release date for his Star Wars movie have been announced yet. With the Skywalker Saga over for good, however, Waititi is free to explore any corner, time period, and group of characters in the ever-expanding sci-fi galaxy. The sky's the limit as Disney moves beyond the legacy characters and motifs.
We also now have firm confirmation on the new Lucasfilm series coming to Disney+ from creator Leslye Headland. Beyond that, there are no other details at this time.
Click here for SYFY WIRE’s full coverage of May the 4th and Star Wars news in general.
