May the force be strong with this one…
New Zealand writer and director Taika Waititi has reportedly been approached to help develop the next film in the “Star Wars” franchise. Fresh off his Oscar-nominated film “Jojo Rabbit” (by far and away better than any “Star Wars” movie), Waititi is just the right, if not slightly off, choice (and for good reason).
The “Star Wars” saga recently concluded with December’s “The Rise of Skywalker.” A whopping box-office success, the film garnered mixed reviews (it currently holds a 52% rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes). The franchise’s spin offs — “Rogue One” and “Solo” — were also “mixed” packages. It’s assumed that, based off the fact that Waititi was approached, Lucasfilm is looking to go in a different direction. Waititi helmed 2017’s “Thor: Ragnarok” for Marvel Studios (Disney owns both Lucasfilm and Marvel), and it was a quirky addition to the serious, politically natured tone of the MCU up at that point.
The idea is that “Star Wars” can’t exist as a genre, same with the MCU — or any superhero movie for that matter. Lucasfilm would need to shake things up, so to speak, and Waititi is the master of shaking things up (seriously go watch “Jojo Rabbit” right now).
The reports are just reports, for now, and nothing has been confirmed from either Waititi or Lucasfilm. Yesterday, amid the reports, Waititi posted an enigmatic photo to his Twitter account: the cover art to Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 rock masterpiece, “Rumours.”
So for now, the reports are just rumours. But perhaps this is all secondhand news, and Waititi will go his own way, and join a chain of films, where all his dreams can come true (this will only work if you’re a Fleetwood Mac fan, my apologies if you’re not).
By Michael Jacobo
Photo: Jordan Strauss/Invision
