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The Star Wars Shuffle
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For a long time the question of which Star Wars film project will reach cinemas next had been up in the air but six weeks ago Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy told us it would be Taika Waititi's with a late 2023 premiere.

Now we're seeing signs which make us wonder if he too will be shuffled off the Dejarik (holochess) board following the mixed response to his Thor: Love and Thunder.

We speculated that Patty Jenkins' Rogue Squadon which had been next in line was delayed after Wonder Woman 1984 didn't live up to its predecessor.

Lucasfilm desperately need the next Star Wars movie to be a hit.

Patty was also replaced as director for the Cleopatra film.

What signs do we see for Taika?

About a month ago he caused waves by sharing his vision of getting completely away from where Star Wars has been to do something totally new.

Look, I think for the Star Wars universe to expand, it has to expand. I don't think that I'm any use in the Star Wars universe making a film where everyone's like, 'Oh great, well that's the blueprints to the Millennium Falcon, ah that's Chewbacca's grandmother.' That all stands alone, that's great, though I would like to take something new and create some new characters and just expand the world, otherwise it feels like it's a very small story.

Now he's claiming to have said something different.

I saw on Twitter, someone's like: I'd actually really love to see a movie about Chewbacca's grandmother. And I was like, I shouldn't have said that because this is awesome. But I just feel like for me, I'm never gonna please the fans. You know, I don't want to mess with something that's so treasured. Also, you feel like you've got to do a lot of research…and I don't have any time. [Laughs] I mean, there's thousands of books that have been written, these volumes of books about Star Wars with all those characters. I just don't have time to get through them. So I can't say like, you know, confidently, I'd be able to do something that's like very close to what everyone knows. I'm not promising that I'm not going to do anything like that. I'm just saying: It'd be easier for me to not do that.

In a recent interview with The New York Times he expressed doubt about whether his film would be made.

I’m trying to write the ‘Star Wars’ idea at the moment. I’ve got to see how that goes, because once I submit it, that might determine when it gets made or if it gets made, even. I am cool as well to take six months off and just go hang out with my kids.

So much for Kathleen Kennedy's pronouncement of his film hitting cinemas in late 2023.

In a recent Rolling Stone interview he recounted his response to Natalie Portman asking him what he'll be doing next.

I’m trying to work on a Star Wars thing. Have you ever wanted to be in a Star Wars movie?” She said, “I’ve been in Star Wars movies.” I forgot about those ones. [Laughs].

Forgetting something like that is amusing but hardly a crime and we thought nothing of it until seeing this in the news stream.

Taika Waititi Forgetting Padmé Exists Is A Crime Against Star Wars

Strange but true, that title is completely serious but the point we might have missed is that the Portman thing may have been a deliberate gaff to form part of a "case" for his removal.

As with the case of Patty Jenkins we regard Taika as a very capable director whose sequel to a great film may have fizzled courtesy of a lesser script.

We've not seen Love and Thunder yet but found its trailers lacking.

So we wouldn't be surprised if Lucasfilm are preparing for another shuffle.

On a positive note, whoever directs the next Star Wars film could be taking a big professional risk and staking their future on whatever story Lucasfilm settles on.

Having enjoyed his work in various entertainment roles we'd be happy for him not to be in the firing line.

[ Main Image: Thor Ragnarok film set - Tessa Thompson and Taika Waititi. Credit: Marvel via IMDb.com. ]

References

Daly, James (July 7, 2022). Taika Waititi Forgetting Padmé Exists Is A Crime Against Star Wars. Gaming Bible.

Hiatt, Brian (July 5, 2022). “I Wish ‘Ragnarok’ Wasn’t So Good’: Taika Waititi on ‘Thor: Love and Thunder,’ ‘Star Wars’. Rolling Stone.

Itzkoff, Dave (June 29, 2022). What Makes Taika Waititi Run and Run and Run? The New York Times.

Molly, Edward (June 14, 2022). Taika Waititi talks his Star Wars movie: "I would like to take something new and create some new characters". Total Film.

Shepherd, Jack (May 27, 2022). Kathleen Kennedy on the future of Star Wars movies: "We need to create a whole new saga". Total Film.