Taika Waititi’s Star Wars movie is off, and he’s already moved on to something else
After six years, Taika Waititi has finally addressed the fate of his Star Wars movie — and it’s not the outcome you were hoping for.
So, Taika Waititi has finally put the constant rumours to bed about his much-hyped Star Wars film, and, not to state the obvious, but it's not good news if you were holding out hope. At a press junket for his soon-to-be-released Klara and the Sun, Waititi didn't dance around it – the Star Wars project is well and truly 'on ice' for now. Will it thaw one day? Maybe, but don't hold your breath.
Star Wars Goes in the Freezer
The actual update came via Inverse, with Waititi outlining that he and fellow writer Tony McNamara are shifting focus. Instead of trying to wrangle a new story set in a galaxy far, far away, the duo are busy plotting something else entirely. Not that Waititi wanted to say much about it – his publicist very quickly shut down further digging into the details. You'd be right to wonder: was this always going to be the outcome? After all, this Star Wars entry has been floating about in development never-never for years.
Waititi told the press at the Klara and the Sun junket: "I hate to break this to you, but we're going to actually put it on ice and we're working on a different thing together,"
Bit of a pattern emerging here, isn't it? Star Wars projects get announced, fans get excited, nothing materialises for half a decade, then the whole thing vanishes with a polite corporate statement or two. Still, at least Waititi has the decency to call it what it is: cold storage, not outright cancelled (though, let's be honest...)
Pressed further for detail, Waititi put it plainly: "It's very iced. I've got about four other movies I'm trying to do,"
To be fair, he's hardly twiddling his thumbs. Waititi is juggling quite the slate at the moment. There's his Charlie and the Chocolate Factory adaptation, a planned sequel to What We Do in the Shadows (fittingly titled We're Wolves), and two more adaptations: The Incal, based on the graphic novel, and Barn 8, which comes from a satirical book. That's a proper workload even by Hollywood standards.
Unfreezing the Future?
Is Taika now exiled from Star Wars forever? Not quite – he playfully suggested there's always a chance for a comeback, with one of his trademark one-liners about ice ages ending. In classic Waititi style, he's kept the whole drawn-out development as a running gag for years, never giving much away and always dodging a straight answer. It's basically become part of the project's lore at this point.
Worth noting, Waititi's already done his bit in the Star Wars universe – he voiced droid IG-11 and directed an episode of The Mandalorian, so he's not exactly short on franchise cred. In the meantime, he and McNamara are cooking up that mysterious new collaboration which, considering McNamara penned The Favourite and Poor Things, could be one to watch – when they actually reveal what it is.
Klara and the Sun lands in cinemas on 23 October.