Disney and Lucasfilm have officially confirmed that Taika Waititi will be directing a new Star Wars movie. 1917 writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns will pen the script with Waititi. Other details have yet to be revealed, but this is definitely a very nice surprise for fans on Star Wars Day. Waititi has yet to comment on the matter, but he will more than likely have something to say about it on social media very soon.

Taika Waititi was rumored to be attached to a Star Wars movie at the end of last year. The filmmaker's directing and voice work in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian was instantly praised. However, when asked about the possibility of helming his own project, Waititi was dismissive and often avoided the subject, though we now know that there were probably some talks going on behind-the-scenes around that time. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy had previously mentioned more than once how much she would like to collaborate with Waititi, even after he joked about Star Wars directors frequently getting fired.

No release date has been announced for Taika Waititi's untitled Star Wars project and it's unclear as to where in the franchise timeline the story will take place. With that being said, it probably will not take place within the Skywalker Saga, since Disney brought that to an end with last year's The Rise of Skywalker. It is believed that the franchise will focus on new stories and new characters on the big screen from here on out, so we could very well see some brand-new characters created by Waititi.

Taika Waititi broke out into the mainstream with Thor: Ragnarok and has since taken home an Academy Award for last year's Jojo Rabbit. The director likes to keep busy and has already shot his upcoming soccer movie Next Goal Wins, and has is preparing to work on Thor: Love and Thunder which is set to hit theaters on February 11th, 2022. So, it's going to be a while before he can get to work in the Star Wars universe, though that was going to be the case anyway since Lucasfilm is giving the big screen projects a break for the time being.

While we don't know too many specifics about Taika Waititi's Star Wars movie, it will probably have the director's sense of humor all over the place. Even taking on the IG-11 droid in The Mandalorian, Waititi was able to let his personality shine through, which worked perfectly with the vibe of the show. In addition to the Waititi news, Lucasfilm has also officially announced that Leslye Headland is currently developing a new untitled Star Wars series for Disney+. Headland will write, executive produce, and serve as showrunner for the series, which was previously unconfirmed. This news was comes to us from the official Star Wars website.