Despite rumors stating Taika Waititi's Star Wars movie had been scrapped at Lucasfilm, the project remains alive and well with the acclaimed filmmaker set to turn in a new draft of his script following the conclusion of the Writers Guild of America strike.
While honoring Shawn Levy at the recent TIFF Tribute Awards, Waititi referenced the duo's competing Star Wars projects, quipping, "Unlike me, let's hope he manages to finish a script for that." Although Waititi was merely joking about his movie's long development period, some online misconstrued his comments to mean that his Star Wars movie was dead. However, this is not the case, with The Hot Mic's Jeff Sneider (via The Bespin Bulletin) reporting, "It’s not dead. Taika has turned in multiple drafts at this point and other writers as well have touched it. Taika owes them [Lucasfilm] another draft after the [WGA] strike is over."
Waititi was announced to be directing and co-writing a Star Wars movie on May 4, 2020, which was originally aimed to be released in late 2023. Although Waititi was initially co-writing the feature with Krysty Wilson-Cairns, the Scottish screenwriter was no longer attached to the movie by March 2023. While plot details remain under wraps, the movie is expected to feature new characters and locations in the Star Wars galaxy. In May 2023, Waititi revealed that he has "a really good idea" for his movie, but that he was struggling with the second act. "You’re like, 'What’s going to happen?' And then you look at all of those films that are so great, you’re like, 'Well, I guess they can’t meet some smuggler with an alien sidekick,'" he explained.
Five Other Star Wars Movies in Development
Waititi's Star Wars movie is just one of six feature-length projects in development at Lucasfilm that will expand the universe first introduced to audiences by George Lucas in 1977. Besides Levy's aforementioned Star Wars movie, James Mangold is writing and directing an untitled feature that will explore the birth of the Force. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is directing an untitled "New Jedi Order" movie that will follow Rey Skywalker (Daisy Ridley) as she re-establishes the Jedi Order 15 years after the events of 2019's Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker while Dave Filoni is writing and helming a movie set in the post-Return of the Jedi timeline that is rumored to be an adaptation of the beloved Star Wars Legends novel, Heir to the Empire.
Lando Is No Longer a TV Series
Although announced as a Disney+ series, Lando is being redeveloped as a feature film. Donald Glover is writing the series with his brother, Stephen Glover, who recently revealed that the project was getting upgraded to a movie. While plot details remain under wraps, the Glovers' "take [on the character] is said to have Lucasfilm brass excited." Glover is expected to reprise his role as young Lando Calrissian from Solo: A Star Wars Story in Lando.
Source: The Hot Mic, via The Bespin Bulletin