Taika Waititi wants his upcoming Star Wars movie to recapture the joy of the Original Trilogy films.
Discussing the project on The Kelly Clarkson Show, the Thor Ragnarok director reiterated past comments that he wants to take his time with the film but perhaps offered some hint at its tone, with Star Wars: Episode 4 - A New Hope, Episode 5 - The Empire Strikes Back, and Episode 6 - Return of the Jedi seemingly acting as inspiration.
"I've been developing [the Star Wars film] for a few years, but I think with any film, but that one in particular, it's something I'd really like to get right so I don't want to rush it," Waititi said. "It's going to bubble along on the side.
"I wanna capture that joy and entertainment of those early ones like The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi and all those ones, so I'm trying to figure that out. It'll happen."
The film won't be releasing anytime soon, of course, and Waititi said earlier in November 2023 he thinks it won't be until after the four projects he's currently working on. He also said he won't be directing another Thor film due to these current projects requiring six or seven years, and as Star Wars will likely come after those, it might not hit cinemas until around 2030.
Fans had grown concerned over the state of the film as, like Rian Johnson's trilogy of Star Wars films, years have passed since its announcement without Lucasfilm showing much progression. Waititi's project was revealed in May 2020 but, outside of the occasional comment from the writer and director himself or Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, has remained out of the limelight. Now, it seems that could be the case for several more years at least.
Waititi said in April 2023 he was "still working away" on the film, but as of June 2023 it was missing a middle despite him claiming the story was finished two years prior. The Star Wars schedule is otherwise full of holes, with some like Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige's project being cancelled after years of similarly receiving few updates.
The three most likely films to actually come out next were announced at Star Wars Celebration 2023, though still lack actual release dates and titles. One comes from The Mandalorian and Ahsoka's Dave Filoni and will likely wrap up the stories which began in those Star Wars TV shows, while another from Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny director James Mangold looks to tell the story of the beginning of The Force.
Finally, Sequel Trilogy star Daisy Ridley is set to return as Rey Skywalker in a movie directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, taking place 15 years after Star Wars: Episode 9 - The Rise of Skywalker.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.
