Director Taika Waititi has confirmed his long-in-development Star Wars movie is officially "on ice."
The Thor: Ragnarok and Jojo Rabbit filmmaker provided Inverse with the update when speaking to the outlet during a press junket for his new film, Klara and the Sun. When asked directly for the state of his and writer Tony McNamara's progress in the Star Wars universe, Waititi had a blunt answer.
"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.
Brutal. Rumors that Disney and Lucasfilm had approached the What We Do in the Shadows filmmaker to helm a Star Wars project go as far back as January 2020. That's just a few years after he took off as the mastermind behind one of the most beloved Marvel Cinematic Universe movies to date, with an official announcement confirming he was attached to a movie arriving just a few months later.
It was mostly good news at first. In 2021, Waititi said he had finished his Star Wars movie's story, and in 2022, then-Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said the goal was to bring it to theaters in late 2023. At the time, she also admitted that Disney hadn't "locked anything in" quite yet, a fact that only became more apparent in the years that followed.
Waititi was said to be "still working away" on the project on the third anniversary of its announcement in April 2023. After admitting he planned to prioritize other projects later that year, updates went mostly quiet. Waititi finally returned earlier this year to promise that his Star Wars movie was going to "harness a little bit more of the fun from the original trilogy." Now, it's all on ice.
"Well, there's your answer," he continued during his conversation with Inverse. "I don't even know how to dress it up or make it even vague. It's very iced. I've got about four other movies I'm trying to do."
It's years of updates that led to what will no doubt arrive as a disappointing announcement for many, even if it's not too surprising. Going on six years with little more than the occasional minor promise never spelled a bright future for Waititi's Star Wars. When Kennedy said she thought the project was "still somewhat alive" amid her Lucasfilm exit, fans started to expect the worst.
None of this is to say Waititi hasn't stayed busy in the years between. In 2022, he launched Thor: Love and Thunder, with his Next Goal Wins movie then following the next year. Klara and the Sun will bring Jenna Ortega, Amy Adams, Steve Buscemi, and the rest of its all-star cast to theaters October 23, 2026, even if negative reviews have cast shade on its premiere. Early reception has landed it with a painful 23% on Rotten Tomatoes after 12 reviews so far.
For now, it's unclear if his Star Wars movie will ever come to be. Even he sounded a bit unsure of what the future holds, adding, "Ice ages do come to an end. Who knows?"
Photo by Stefania D'Alessandro/Getty Images.