Taika Waititi puts Star Wars film on hold

Director Taika Waititi has confirmed that his long-developing Star Wars film is officially “on ice.” During a press junket for his new film, “Klara and the Sun,” Waititi informed Inverse that he and screenwriter Tony McNamara are shifting their focus to a different, undisclosed project.

Waititi described the status of the Star Wars project bluntly, stating, “I hate to break this to this to you, but we’re going to actually put it on ice and we’re working on a different thing together.” While he did not provide specific details regarding the new collaboration, he noted that he has approximately four other films in development, including a “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” project and a sequel to “What We Do in the Shadows” titled “We’re Wolves.”

The Star Wars project was first announced in May 2020. While former Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy previously indicated the project was “still somewhat alive,” development had faced numerous delays. Waititi had expressed intentions to bring the “fun and whimsy” of the original trilogy to his standalone story, but the project has now entered an indefinite hiatus.