Following the conclusion of the Skywalker Saga, Lucasfilm announced a sprawling slate of projects, spanning from Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s New Jedi Order film starring Daisy Ridley, to James Mangold’s exploration of the Dawn of the Jedi, and Dave Filoni’s New Republic crossover event. But in a franchise notorious for high-profile cancellations and creative reshuffling, an announcement is not always a guarantee. Many projects stall behind the scenes, never making it out of development. Caught in the middle of this volatile cycle is Taika Waititi, whose long-gestating Star Wars movie has spent years shrouded in mystery – until now.
First announced six years ago, the untitled project was initially met with immense excitement following Waititi’s work on The Mandalorian. Early plans promised a story that would expand the franchise by steering clear of existing characters and legacy storylines, with Lucasfilm executives at one point targeting a late 2023 release date. However, years of sluggish development, high-profile co-writer shake-ups, and Waititi’s own jam-packed slate repeatedly pushed the timeline back. Even as Oscar-nominated screenwriter Tony McNamara stepped in to overhaul the script, details remained heavily locked away. Now, while out promoting his new sci-fi feature Klara and the Sun, the director finally delivered a definitive status update on his Lucasfilm venture.
Speaking to Inverse, Waititi bluntly confirmed that his galactic feature is on hold indefinitely. “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,” the director revealed, confirming that he and McNamara have pivoted away from it. When pressed for details on why the film was benched, Waititi playfully deferred to his publicist – who promptly shut down the line of questioning – leaving him to candidly admit, “I don’t even know how to dress it up or make it even vague.”
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This story originally appeared on Movieweb
