Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has taken its bow at the box office, making a lot of money (albeit the least of any movie in the sequel trilogy) and dividing critics and fans alike. Perhaps feeling the need to recalibrate, Disney is taking a break from Star Wars movies for a while. Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss were once poised to direct a new trilogy, but that didn’t work out. The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson was also set to helm a new trilogy, but we haven’t heard anything about it in a while, and he’s currently working on the sequel to his hit Knives Out, so…let’s just say I wouldn’t be shocked if those plans quietly died.
But make no mistake: Star Wars will eventually return to the big screen, just perhaps not as quickly as originally planned. We’ve already heard about Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige being involved with a new Star Wars film, and now, The Hollywood Reporter has it that director Taika Waititi has been approached about coming on board the franchise.
Waititi is arguably the most in-demand director in Hollywood. Not only can he direct blockbusters, but he can imbue them with a sense of personality and fun, as he did with Thor: Ragnarok. He’s just as good with smaller, quirky films like Jojo Rabbit, an uplifting comedy about Adolf Hitler that’s currently in the running for Best Picture at the Oscars. We don’t know if this new Star Wars film is the same one that Feige is working on or something different, but I have no doubt Waititi would be as asset.
The big question is whether he has the time. Waititi is currently putting the finishing touches on the sports comedy Next Goal Wins, and then he’s gonna direct Thor: Love and Thunder, and then he’s attached to the long-gestating live-action version of Akira. Like I said, the guy is in demand.
Waititi also directed the season finale of The Mandalorian on Disney+, on top of voicing the nanny-killer droid IG-11. That show, which has been a runaway success on Disney’s new streaming service, could provide another pipeline for the company to find potential directors for future Star Wars films.
Speaking of The Mandalorian, Waititi talked a bit about the show’s breakout star — the lovable, Force-powered Baby Yoda — to Entertainment Weekly. “I knew that people would be talking about Baby Yoda, but I also know Baby Yoda’s real name,” he said. “So if you’re gonna do me a favor, please stop calling him Baby Yoda. Or is it a her! No one knows!”
I feel like the internet has made up its mind on that one, but if there’s anyone who could sway them, it might be this guy.
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