Despite Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy suggesting that Taika Waititi’s Star Wars movie could be aiming for a December 2023 release, the latest update from the director himself seems to suggest that is very unlikely. Although Waititi’s movie was originally announced in 2020, and a placeholder for a Star Wars project is still in place for December 22, 2023, according to the Thor: Love and Thunder helmer, he is currently still writing the story and has other projects tying him up for the rest of 2022.
The last Star Wars theatrical release was The Rise of Skywalker in 2019, and while Star Wars content on Disney+ has been flowing out at a steady rate, until recently the only movie project on the cards was Rogue Squadron from Wonder Woman’s Patty Jenkins. Now it appears that Jenkins's movie is “on the back burner” for now, and is being superseded by Waititi’s unnamed project. Other Star Wars movies are currently penciled into the Disney release slate for December 19, 2025 and December 17, 2027, but more about those plans may come during one of the upcoming Lucasfilm panels in the next few months.
In a recent interview with The Wrap, Waititi was asked about his Star Wars project and broke down exactly where his time is going to be spent the rest of this year. He said:
"I'm going to be in New Zealand from August until the end of the year with [HBO Max series] Our Flag Means Death and [Apple TV+ pilot] Time Bandits and during that time I will still be writing. I'm still trying to figure out what the story is."
Waititi Wants to Make Sure He Gets All The Elements of a Star Wars Movie Right
While there have been plenty of disappointments from recent Star Wars movies, with the Disney+ series offerings providing much more interest recently, Taika Waititi wants to make sure that he gets everything right on his movie in the franchise. Rumored to be set after the sequel trilogy, the film will potentially bring in a whole new slew of characters, and bring the same kind of freshness to the franchise that gained Rogue One: A Star Wars Story so many positive reviews. In a previous interview, Waititi said:
"I'm still writing. I'm still coming up with the ideas and storylining it and just wanted to make sure that it feels like a Star Wars film. Because, I could say, "Oh yeah, we'll just write any old thing and set in space and then put 'Star Wars' on the front." But it wouldn't be a Star Wars film without certain elements and a certain treatment, so I've just got to make sure that it stays within that wheelhouse."
Although Kathleen Kennedy has made it clear that Star Wars is coming back to theaters in a big way in the future, exactly what that future is beyond Waititi’s movie is still very much unclear. When it comes to Disney+ however, following the success of Obi-Wan Kenobi, there are plenty of new and returning live-action series to watch out for including the third season of The Mandalorian, Andor, Ahsoka, The Acolyte, and the newly announced Skeleton Crew.