Filmmaker Taika Waititi is set to bring his artistic talents to the Star Wars franchise next year, but the man himself has warned fans that his upcoming film will differ greatly from some of the recent instalments.
The 46-year-old, who has previously won an Oscar for his film Jojo Rabbit, insists that he'll be taking a different approach to the much-loved sci-fi franchise – especially when it comes to characters.
No stranger to directing films with a fantasy twist, Waititi has also helped bring Marvel titles to life over the past decade, including Thor: Ragnarok and the upcoming sequel Thor: Love and Thunder.
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This body of work has helped him emerge as one of the most sought-after filmmakers in Hollywood – with Lucasfilm soon taking notice.
In 2020, the New Zealander directed an episode of The Mandalorian, paying the way for future film involvements; Waititi will now be directing a future Star Wars movie, which is slated for a 2023 release.
While remaining relatively coy on the project, Waititi did give the media some interesting snippets in regard to how he'll be approaching the creation of the movie.
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"Look, I think for the Star Wars universe to expand, it has to expand," the director told Total Film.
"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, though 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."
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Such comments echo that of Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, who similarly emphasised the need for fresh storylines in a different recent interview with Total Film.
Kennedy said the company is focused on '[creating] a whole new saga'.
Interestingly, she also zeroed in on how Disney+ content will impact the 'next iteration of Star Wars'.
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"As we leave the [Skywalker] saga, we have all this great, exciting work happening on the television side that informs so much about where we're going," Kennedy stated.
While there have been several spin-off TV series set in the Star Wars universe – namely Obi-Wan Kenobi and Andor – next year's release will be the first movie of its kind since 2018.
It remains to be seen how many pre-existing characters will remain for the film, but it's certainly clear that Waititi is looking to usher in a new era for the franchise, which first hit the big screen 45 years ago.
Topics: Taika Waititi, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, Disney Plus, Disney
Tom Fenton