Taika Waititi Reveals Major New Details About His Upcoming Star Wars Movie

Taika Waititi’s Star Wars movie is once again back in the spotlight after years of silence. The project was first announced in 2020, when Disney and Lucasfilm revealed that the Jojo Rabbit director would make a new film set in the Star Wars universe. The script was written by Krysty Wilson-Cairns, best known for 1917. After that announcement, updates were rare, and many fans assumed the movie had quietly faded away.

That changed recently when former Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said the project was still “somewhat alive.” Her comment reopened the conversation and raised fresh questions about what Waititi actually plans to do with the franchise.

Waititi addressed those questions himself while speaking to Variety at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. He was there for the premiere of his new movie Fing!, but he also took time to talk about Star Wars and the tone he wants to bring to it.

I’m just trying to go back and harness a little bit more of the fun from the original films, which is what I remember them from, Waititi said, according to Variety.

He explained that his movie would still have serious moments, but he wants it to feel lighter and more enjoyable than some recent entries. According to Waititi, Star Wars does not need to be heavy all the time to feel important.

The stakes are very high, and there’s serious things going on, but there’s also a lot of fun to be had in those films. That’s what I was trying to bring back, he said.

Waititi also made it clear that he does not want his movie to be tied too closely to existing stories. With so many shows and films already filling the timeline, he believes the best path forward is something more separate.

I was trying to work in a world that was a little bit separate to that because they’ve got so many things going on within that space. For me to do something there, it would need to be a little different and a little bit more its own thing, he added.

Kathleen Kennedy echoed that optimism before stepping down from her role at Lucasfilm. In an interview with Deadline, she confirmed that Waititi had already turned in a script and spoke very positively about it.

He’s turned in a script that I think is hilarious and great, Kennedy said. She also noted that the final decision on the film now belongs to Lucasfilm’s new leadership, Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan, since she is in the process of leaving the company.

While the future of the Star Wars movie remains unclear, Waititi has been busy with several other projects. At Sundance, he promoted Fing!, a family adventure based on the book by David Walliams. The film follows two librarians who try to protect a strange one-eyed creature from a greedy nobleman. Waititi plays the villain, the over-the-top Viscount.

Outside of that role, Waititi recently finished work on Klara and the Sun, a film adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel starring Jenna Ortega and Amy Adams. That movie is expected to be released in 2026. He is also lending his voice to a character in the animated film The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender.

As Lucasfilm moves forward under new leadership, Waititi’s Star Wars film remains a question mark. Some fans are excited by the idea of a funny and standalone story, while others want the studio to focus on familiar characters and long-running storylines. For now, all that is certain is that the script exists, the director is still interested, and the galaxy far, far away may yet have room for a different kind of story.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!