In an appropriately timed announcement on May the 4th, Lucasfilm has announced that Taika Waititi will be adding a Star Wars feature film to his belt.
The Oscar-winning writer-director will be collaborating with 1917 writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns. Tania Safi
Following rumours in January, acclaimed Jojo Rabbit director Taika Waititi is confirmed to be directing and co-writing a new Star Wars film.
The statement, posted on the Star Wars website, confirms that Waititi will direct and co-write a new Star Wars feature film for theatrical release. The film is unnamed as of yet, and no plot or release details have been revealed.
Incoming news from a galaxy far, far away….
Academy Award winner @TaikaWaititi to direct and co-write a new Star Wars feature film for theatrical release; Academy Award nominee Krysty Wilson-Cairns (@WeWriteAtDawn) to co-write screenplay with Waititi: https://t.co/o3Exz8ndy9 pic.twitter.com/Yrt0LQbi7B
— Star Wars (@starwars) May 4, 2020
It marks the second descent into the Star Wars empire for Waititi, who also directed the season finale of The Mandalorian for Disney+. In February, the director told Variety, “I would want to do any kind of movie if it made sense, and if it felt not like career suicide.”
In an Instagram post, Waititi addresses the rumours that have been circulating since the beginning of the year. “Guess it wasn’t a rumour after all. Psyyyych! #maythe4thbewithyou” it reads.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_x62CODOjk/
After the success of Jojo Rabbit, for which he earned Best Adapted Screenplay, Taika Waititi is currently working on a football comedy called Next Goal Wins. He will return to the Marvel universe with Thor: Love and Thunder, after his direction of Thor: Ragnarok received critical acclaim in 2017.
The hiring has been met by positive responses from Star Wars fans, many of which were disenchanted with the franchise’s most recent releases.
Read next: Star Wars meets your favourite album covers
