Over the last decade, Taika Waititi has established himself as one of most interesting voices in mainstream cinema. He’s already injected his idiosyncrasies into the MCU via Thor: Ragnarok and has now been announced as the writer/director of the next original film in the Star Wars universe. The Oscar winner will co-write the film with Krysty Wilson-Cairns (1917), marking this the first time that a Star Wars film will have a female writer, which frankly is long overdue.
Waititi has already dipped his toes into a galaxy far, far away through his voice-work and directing of the acclaimed series The Mandalorian, though the chance to see him take charge of his very own film is certainly an exciting prospect. Waititi’s unique style and sense of humour seems an absolutely perfect fit for Star Wars, as the films have always leaned on moments of comic relief. Waititi’s mastery of dialogue will certainly be a tonic to some of the very naff lines that more recent iterations of Star Wars have displayed. Yes, I’m talking about “Somehow, Palpatine has returned”.
What Waititi can definitely offer is something fresh and new to an already vast franchise that many suggest may be running out of steam. Given Waititi’s popularity and box-office draw, this is a very shrewd appointment by Disney that will have many fans filled with excitement, myself included, to see what he has in store for the next entry into the Star Wars universe.
Words by Elliott Jones