Taika Waititi Teases His STAR WARS Movie Saying There's “A Lot of Fun to Be Had”
Back in 2020, Lucasfilm announced that Star Wars was heading into uncharted territory with a standalone film from Taika Waititi. Since then, updates have been slow, the timeline unclear, and fans left wondering if the project would ever truly take shape.
Now, after years of uncertainty, there’s finally a meaningful development that puts the movie back on the radar in a big way.
When the film was first revealed, it was positioned as something completely new within the franchise. At last year’s Star Wars Celebration, then-Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy talked about the pace of progress, saying that “Taika is on Taika time,” a comment that acknowledged the script was still in development.
Since then, a lot has changed at Lucasfilm. Kennedy has stepped down from her leadership role and the studio is now being run by co-presidents Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan. Along with that transition came fresh insight into the future of the franchise and confirmation that Waititi has actually finished his script.
While out promoting his upcoming family comedy Fing!, Waititi was asked by Variety about where things stand with his Star Wars movie. He didn’t dive into plot specifics, but he did offer a sense of the tone he’s aiming for, drawing inspiration from the roots of the franchise.
“The stakes are very high,” he explained, “and there are serious things going on, but there’s also a lot of fun to be had.”
Waititi has made a career out of bringing humor and heart into massive franchises. His work on Thor: Ragnarok was widely praised for revitalizing the character and injecting a playful energy into the MCU. Thor: Love & Thunder proved more divisive, but it still leaned heavily into that same comedic sensibility.
Those experiences suggest his Star Wars script likely walks a similar line, aiming to deliver epic stakes without losing a sense of adventure and personality.
Even though Waititi’s industry momentum isn’t quite what it was when the project was announced, he remains a highly respected filmmaker with a distinctive voice. The fact that Lucasfilm continued to support the project through leadership changes and shifting plans says a lot about their confidence in what he’s delivered on the page.
Kennedy may be stepping away from Lucasfilm, but she’s still involved as a producer on The Mandalorian and Grogu and Star Wars: Starfighter, the latter being directed by Shawn Levy.
The final call on Waititi’s film now rests with Filoni and Brennan, who are shaping a new creative direction for the franchise. There’s been clear evidence that Lucasfilm’s roadmap evolved as the leadership transition took place, which makes it encouraging that Waititi was allowed to complete his script rather than having the project shelved.
At the moment, the overall future of Star Wars remains a bit hazy. Following Starfighter, the studio’s next major focus appears to be a new trilogy written by Simon Kinberg, with strong expectations that Daisy Ridley could return as Rey.
If that plan holds, and if Waititi’s film fits cleanly into Filoni and Brennan’s long-term vision, it likely won’t hit theaters until 2029 at the earliest.
After years of waiting, Taika Waititi’s corner of the Star Wars universe is one step closer to becoming a reality.