As much as we’re loving Obi-Wan Kenobi, it’s hard to deny that the series relies heavily on nostalgia. Princess Leia! Luke Skywalker! Darth Vader! Now that the “Skywalker Saga” is complete, there’s space for a fresh approach to the Star Wars franchise, which is something that director Taika Waititi is keen to tackle in his upcoming flick.
Waititi’s forthcoming movie won’t be his first foray into the galaxy far, far away. The filmmaker has previously helmed an episode of The Mandalorian, as well as voiced assassin droid IG-11 in the series. His movie, however, will be his biggest project in the franchise so far. And he wants to make something that’s fresh and pushes the saga forward into a new era.
Speaking to GamesRadar about his movie, Waititi expressed his desire to reinvent the franchise:
"Look, I think for the Star Wars universe to expand, it has to expand. I don’t think that I’m any use in the Star Wars universe making a film where everyone’s like, ‘Oh great, well that’s the blueprints to the Millennium Falcon, ah that’s Chewbacca’s grandmother.’ That all stands alone, that’s great…I would like to take something new and create some new characters and just expand the world, otherwise it feels like it’s a very small story."
If anyone can breathe new life into a franchise, it would be Taika Waititi. Look no further than what he did with the Thor franchise. The difference in tone between Thor: The Dark World and Ragnarok was enormous. Fans can’t get enough of Waititi’s Thor movies nowadays. His next installment, Thor: Love and Thunder, arrives July 8, 2022.
Taika Waititi is “still writing” his Star Wars movie.
While Waititi’s Star Wars movie is targeting a late 2023 release date, he seems to be taking his time to write the script. Given that we have absolutely no casting announcements or even a title, a 2023 release seems very optimistic. But this is Taika Waititi; never tell him the odds.
“I’m still writing,” he recently told ScreenRant. “I’m still coming up with the ideas and storylining it and just wanted to make sure that it feels like a Star Wars film, because I could say, ‘Oh yeah, we’ll just write any old thing and set [it] in space and then put Star Wars on the front.’ But it wouldn’t be a Star Wars film without certain elements and a certain treatment, so I’ve just got to make sure that it stays within that wheelhouse.”
His movie will be the first Star Wars film to hit the big screen since The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. Since then, Disney+ has been serving the fandom plenty of fantastic TV shows. The Mandalorian is one of the most popular TV shows in the world, and Obi-Wan Kenobi is going pretty well, too.
Obi-Wan Kenobi continues Wednesdays on Disney+!
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