The recent couple of Star Wars movies haven’t exactly set the world alight because they were, well, flawed in so many ways. This in turn has raised questions about how Lucasfilm will approach future films given all the tumultuous behind-the-scenes drama and an enforced hiatus on new movies so they can figure out what to do next.
But if The Hollywood Reporter is to be believed, it seems like Lucasfilm is putting together the pieces for a bright future for Star Wars because they’re apparently courting Taika Waititi to develop a film.
While it’s not exactly clear whether a deal has been made yet (Disney and Lucasfilm made no comment), getting Taika Waititi onboard Star Wars is a huge freaking deal.
We already know Taika is a fantastic director who can seamlessly blend comedy with emotional drama, as evidenced with Thor: Ragnarok, Jojo Rabbit, and What We Do In The Shadows, so there’s no doubting he can make great movies.
Throw in the fact that he also directed some of the most well-received episodes in The Mandalorian, his experience with working on a Star Wars project and with Lucasfilm make him the perfect choice to usher the space franchise to a new direction, one that isn’t beholden to the past or fan service.
Beyond getting Taika Waititi onboard for a Star Wars movie (again, great choice), this scoop from The Hollywood Reporter suggests that Lucasfilm intend to use The Mandalorian as some sort of training ground for directors who could helm a movie or other bigger projects in the future.
This is actually pretty savvy as not only did it give us some great work from Deborah Chow, who directed some episodes of The Mandalorian and is the first female director of anything Star Wars, she’ll be at the helm of Lucasfilm’s upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series.
Having said that, it remains to be seen whether Taika Waititi will end up taking the Star Wars gig as he’s incredibly busy with other projects, such as Marvel’s Thor: Love and Thunder, not to mention the challenge of meeting fan expectations.
But I have my fingers crossed for something good to happen here because Taika is a fantastic director who clearly understands Star Wars and he’s going to do something brilliant if he accepts the keys to a big space movie.
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