Disney has watched Taika Waititi's career with great interest, and he's now officially directing a new movie in the galaxy far, far away.
Lucasfilm celebrated Star Wars Day on Monday by announcing that Waititi, director of films like Thor: Ragnarok and the Oscar-winning Jojo Rabbit, will direct and co-write a new Star Wars movie.
Co-writing with Waititi on this untitled film will be Krysty Wilson-Cairns, who co-wrote another Oscar-winning 2019 movie, 1917. Lucasfilm on Monday also confirmed the previously-reported Disney+ Star Wars show from Leslye Headland, the co-creator of Russian Doll.
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This won't be Waititi's first rodeo with Star Wars, as he also voiced IG-11 on the first season of The Mandalorian and directed that show's season finale. He'd previously been rumored for a Star Wars film and said in February he'd "love to" do it, providing that it didn't feel like "career suicide." Regarding the possibility of directing a Star Wars movie, Waititi tweeted back in 2017, "I like to complete my films," adding, "I'd be fired within a week."
No information about the plot of Waititi's film was provided, although Lucasfilm confirmed it will be a theatrical release and not go straight to Disney+. It's unclear when Waititi's film might debut, but the next Star Wars film after The Rise of Skywalker is currently dated for December 2022. For now, Star Wars fans can make the jump to hyperspace again when The Mandalorian's second season arrives later this year.
