Taika Waititi Says His ‘Star Wars’ Movie Is “Very Iced,” and a Galaxy Far, Far Away Just Got Colder
Few filmmakers have seemed as natural a fit for a galaxy far, far away as Taika Waititi. He has a gift for irreverent blockbusters, a history with the franchise and a fanbase that has been asking about his ‘Star Wars’ movie for years. That makes the latest update from the director feel especially sobering.
Lucasfilm first announced the project on May 4, 2020, with Waititi directing and co-writing alongside Krysty Wilson-Cairns. Waititi was already familiar with the universe, having directed the final episode of the first season of ‘The Mandalorian.’ In 2022, then-Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said the goal was a late 2023 release, though she admitted nothing was locked in.
Now the filmmaker has given the clearest status report yet, and it is not good news. Waititi says his ‘Star Wars’ film is not happening anytime in the near future, telling Inverse during the press junket for his new movie ‘Klara and the Sun’ that the project is being shelved. “I hate to break this to you, but we’re going to actually put it on ice and we’re working on a different thing together,” he said.
Waititi did not soften the message. “It’s very iced,” he said. “I’ve got about four other movies I’m trying to do.” He was referring to the other films he is trying to get made, which have apparently jumped ahead in the queue.
The “different thing” he mentioned is a new project with screenwriter Tony McNamara, the writer behind ‘The Favourite’ and ‘Poor Things.’ When pressed on what it is, Waititi checked with his publicist and was told not to say more. “Well, there’s your answer,” he said.
Despite the freeze, Waititi did not slam the door on the franchise. “Ice ages do come to an end,” he told Inverse. “Who knows?” It was a half-joking line that leaves room for the project to come back someday.
Lucasfilm offered no comment on the film’s status. For now, the movie remains untitled, and Waititi never shared an official synopsis. He had only hinted that it would expand the ‘Star Wars’ universe.
The development history has been bumpy. McNamara took over the script in April 2025, when Kennedy announced at Star Wars Celebration Japan that he had come aboard so Waititi could concentrate on directing. In January 2026, as she announced her retirement, Kennedy told Deadline that Waititi had turned in a script she found hilarious and great, and described the film as still somewhat alive.
Her successors, Dave Filoni and co-president Lynwen Brennan, took over Lucasfilm that month. Waititi said around the same time that the script aimed to harness a little more of the fun from the original trilogy. Nine months later, the project appears to be heading back into the franchise’s growing pile of unrealized films.
Notably, this time it seems to be Waititi himself putting on the brakes rather than the studio formally pulling the plug. Star Wars News Net argues that the simple reason is that he is busy, with several projects further along. It also notes that ‘Star Wars’ films have been difficult to get greenlit since ‘The Rise of Skywalker.’
Waititi’s current focus is ‘Klara and the Sun,’ an adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s 2021 novel starring Jenna Ortega, Amy Adams and Steve Buscemi. It opens in theaters on October 23 and is his first feature since ‘Next Goal Wins’ in 2023. Early reaction has been rough, with the film debuting at around 20% to 23% on Rotten Tomatoes after its London Film Festival premiere, the lowest score of his directing career.
That makes the timing of the ‘Star Wars’ news a little awkward. His recent directing work, including ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ and ‘Next Goal Wins,’ has received mixed reviews, following a run of acclaim for films like ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ and ‘Jojo Rabbit.’ The freeze removes one of the most distinctive voices ever attached to the franchise.
The big-screen slate remains crowded. Right now, the only ‘Star Wars’ movie with a solid release date is ‘Star Wars: Starfighter,’ directed by Shawn Levy, which is set for 2027. Beyond that, seven other upcoming films have been announced but are still waiting on release dates and production updates.
For fans, the Waititi update is both disappointing and unsurprising. A director with a gift for humor and strangeness might have taken the saga somewhere genuinely unusual, and that possibility now sits in cold storage. Still, the freeze is not a funeral, and thaws have happened before.
What do you think should happen to the project?
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