'Thor: Ragnarok' director Taika Waititi will direct a new 'Star Wars' movie for theatrical release
- Lucasfilm announced on Monday that Taika Waititi would cowrite and direct a new "Star Wars" movie for theatrical release.
- Waititi most recently directed the season one finale of Disney Plus' "Star Wars" series "The Mandalorian" and won an Oscar in February for best adapted screenplay for "Jojo Rabbit."
- Lucasfilm also announced that the "Russian Doll" cocreator Leslye Headland would serve as showrunner for an untitled "Star Wars" series for Disney Plus.
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Fans got some good news on "Star Wars" Day on Monday.
Lucasfilm announced that the "Thor: Ragnarok" director Taika Waititi would cowrite and direct a new "Star Wars" movie for theatrical release. He'll write the script with the "1917" cowriter Krysty Wilson-Cairns.
Lucasfilm did not announce a release date for the movie yet, but Disney had a slot in December 2022 reserved for a "Star Wars" movie that was to be written and produced by the "Game of Thrones" showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. The duo exited the project in October, though, and Disney has yet to announce any updates.
Most recently, Waititi directed the season one finale of Disney Plus' "Star Wars" series "The Mandalorian" and won an Oscar in February for best adapted screenplay for "Jojo Rabbit," which he also directed. He's also set to direct "Thor: Love and Thunder," which is slated for release in February, 2022.
There are other "Star Wars" film projects in development. "The Last Jedi" director Rian Johnson is developing a new trilogy, though there have been few updates about the project. He told Variety in January that he's "still talking to Lucasfilm." And Marvel creative chief Kevin Feige is set to produce a new "Star Wars" movie with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, The Hollywood Reporter first reported in September.
"I love that world and I love the notion of exploring new people and new places in that universe, but that's all that can be said for now," Feige said during THR's Awards Chatter podcast in November.
Lucasfilm also announced on Monday that Leslye Headland, who cocreated Netflix's "Russian Doll," will write, executive produce, and serve as showrunner for an untitled "Star Wars" series for Disney Plus. Lucasfilm did not announce a release date for the series.
The series joins other live-action "Star Wars" shows that are already in development for Disney Plus: a "Rogue One" prequel starring Diego Luna as Cassian Andor and an Obi-Wan Kenobi series starring Ewan McGregor that takes place between "Revenge of the Sith" and "A New Hope." Production on the latter was halted earlier this year as the scripts were reworked.
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