Several Star Wars films have been shelved, and Taika Waititi’s galactic project is set to prominently feature the Jojo Rabbit actor/director, according to Variety.
What’s Happening:
- After a slew of miscalculations in the Star Wars universe – namely the wild success of The Mandalorian and the crush and burn of The Rise of Skywalker, a film from Wonder Woman’s Patty Jenkins, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, has reportedly been shelved.
- In September 2022, Disney pulled the title from its scheduled December 2023 release, and sources with knowledge of the production say it is no longer in active development at the studio. In December, Jenkins herself said in a statement that she was still developing the film but added “I don’t know if it will happen or not.”
- Variety is also reporting that a Star Wars feature produced by Marvel Studio head Kevin Feige is also no longer in active development at Lucasfilm. News of his attachment to a project broke back in 2019, a project that remained alive even last year, with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness screenwriter Michael Waldron attached. A few months later, Feige pulled Waldron over to work on some of the next Marvel films, securing him on the Marvel Side of things for the better part of a decade.
- The same can be said for Rian Johnson, who has openly stated he wants to work on more Star Wars films but has locked himself into more stories in the Knives Out universe for Netflix and a second season of Poker Face for Peacock.
- As for Taika Waititi, who is known to be working on a Star Wars feature, is also planning on starring in the film, similar to his role behind and in front of the camera in Jojo Rabbit.
- Lucasfilm has yet to officially confirm it, but sources say the studio is committed to a Star Wars movie from director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, a two-time Oscar-winning documentarian (Saving Face, A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness), who made her live-action narrative debut with two episodes of 2022’s Ms. Marvel for Disney+. Damon Lindelof (Watchmen) and Justin Britt-Gibson (Counterpart) were attached in October to write the script for that movie.
- Any updates on Star Wars films, or perhaps a highly-guarded Lucasfilm project that has yet to be announced, are expected to be revealed at this year’s Star Wars Celebration this April in London. Those announcements will compete with expected updates for at least four Disney+ series, including the final season of Andor; new shows from Leslye Headland (The Acolyte) and Jon Watts (Skeleton Crew); and the first major push for Ahsoka, a spinoff of The Mandalorian and the animated series The Clone Wars starring Rosario Dawson that aims to debut in late summer.
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