Thor: Ragnorok director Taika Waititi is among the hottest directors in Hollywood right now, so it was pretty cool when he not only helmed an episode of the first season of The Mandalorian on Disney+, but also provided the voice of the assassin robot IG-11, who went from bloodthirsty would-be baby killer to self-sacrificing homicidal super-nanny in the space of eight episodes.
Waititi lent his directing expertise to “Redemption” the season finale and probably the best episode of the show yet produced So can we expect him behind the camera in season 2?
In short, no. “I’m not directing any of the episodes of The Mandalorian because I was doing another film, a soccer film with Michael Fassbender,” Waititi said during an Instagram Live party where he screened Thor: Ragnorok with Tessa Thompson and Mark Ruffalo.
And there you have it: Taika Waititi is not directing an episode of The Mandalorian season 2. That’s a shame, because he has a unique stamp that will be missed, but with him off directing Thor: Love and Thunder, among many other things, it’s not hugely surprising.
However, there’s still a lot of quality talent lined up for season 2. We know that the directing lineup includes is Rick Famuyiwa, who worked on the first season; series creator Jon Favreau; showrunner Dave Filoni; and Carl Weathers, who plays the bounty hunters’ guild leader Guild leader Greef Carga. And oh, yeah, Sin City director Robert Rodriguez is on board.
Also, just because Waititi isn’t directing an episode doesn’t necessarily mean he couldn’t lend his voice to one…we’ll find out for sure when The Mandalorian season 2 debuts this October, assuming it doesn’t get pushed back because of the coronavirus pandemic.
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h/t Digital Spy