Taika Waititi to direct new Star Wars film

Oscar nominee, Taika Waititi arrives on the red carpet of The 92nd Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, CA on Sunday, February 9, 2020. Photo credit: Nick Argo/©A.M.P.A.S.

It was just announced this morning that Oscar winner Taika Waititi will be directing and co-writing a new Star Wars film to be released in theaters.

The news happens to come on May 4th, also known as Star Wars Day.  With production shut down across the board in the industry, it’ll be some time before either film or television series gets released.  There’s been no word of late about Rian Johnson’s planned Star Wars trilogy.

Academy Award winner Taika Waititi is fresh off of a win for Best Adapted Screenplay this February at the Oscars.  He won it, of course, for Jojo Rabbit.  Most recently, he directed the widely-acclaimed first season finale episode of The Mandalorian on Disney+.  With directing the finale under his belt, it really doesn’t come as a surprise that the Thor: Ragnarok director will direct and co-write a new Star Wars feature film for theatrical release. Waititi will share the screenplay duties with Academy Award nominee Krysty Wilson-Cairns.  Wilson-Cairns recently won a BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film of the Year on the three-time Oscar-winning film, 1917.

The other big news in the world of the franchise is that Emmy-nominated writer Leslye Headland  is currently developing a new untitled Star Wars series for Disney+. Headland will write, executive produce, and serve as showrunner for the in-development series.  The untitled series joins a growing list of Star Wars stories for Disney+ including The Mandalorian, now in post-production on season 2, and two other previously ordered series: one based on Cassian Andor prior to the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and another following the adventures of Obi-Wan Kenobi between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.

The release date for Waititi’s project has not yet been announced, while Headland’s project is in development.  In the meantime, you can enjoy everything Star Wars on Disney+, including Monday’s series finale of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Danielle Solzman

Danielle Solzman is native of Louisville, KY, and holds a BA in Public Relations from Northern Kentucky University and a MA in Media Communications from Webster University. She roots for her beloved Kentucky Wildcats, St. Louis Cardinals, Indianapolis Colts, and Boston Celtics. Living less than a mile away from Wrigley Field in Chicago, she is an active reader (sports/entertainment/history/biographies/select fiction) and involved with the Chicago improv scene. She also sees many movies and reviews them. She has previously written for Redbird Rants, Wildcat Blue Nation, and Hidden Remote/Flicksided. From April 2016 through May 2017, her film reviews can be found on Creators.