Star Wars fans are proving increasingly difficult to please when it comes to feature-length movies, as both Rian Johnson and J.J. Abrams have found out in recent years. But Disney may have found both a critically acclaimed director with proven box office successes in the popcorn movie genre for the next phase of the Star Wars cinematic universe.
Taika Waititi is reportedly a target for Disney to direct a Star Wars movie. According to a report in The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday, the JoJo Rabbit director has been approached to “develop” a feature-length Star Wars project.
It is unclear where things stand in those talks. It is also unclear whether the project is separate from the one being developed by Kevin Feige, with whom he closely worked on Ragnarok, or a separate Star Wars project.
Disney and Lucasfilm, producers of the Star Wars movies, had no comment.
Waititi is no stranger to the Disney or Star Wars universe, as he handled the final episode of The Mandalorian’s first season in late 2019. His work with Thor: Ragnarok is largely considered one of the best movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Jojo Rabbit was a surprisingly emotional and touching work set in Nazi Germany in which Waititi played the main protagonist’s imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler. Pulling that off as a comedic success with considerable emotional heft is no small feat, nor would be manning a Star Wars film in an era where the fandom seems decidedly split on any decision made that doesn’t involve Baby Yoda.
[via THR]
