Taika Waititi Puts His Star Wars Movie on Ice

Taika Waititi's Star Wars film is on ice.

The director confirmed the pause in an interview published on 18 October while promoting his film Klara and the Sun, according to Variety. The project has been in development since 2020. That is six years without a shoot date.

Waititi gave the update to Inverse, which published the conversation as an exclusive titled "Exclusive: Taika Waititi's Star Wars Movie Is 'On Ice'". He described the film as "very iced". He added that he has about four other movies he is trying to make.

The news was quickly picked up elsewhere, with IGN reporting that the long-in-development project is officially paused. No production timetable was announced. No cast was finalised.

The film dates to 4 May 2020, when StarWars.com announced that Waititi would direct and co-write a new Star Wars film with Krysty Wilson-Cairns. Wilson-Cairns co-wrote the screenplay for 1917. Waititi had directed the final episode of the first season of The Mandalorian.

Lucasfilm positioned it as a feature for cinemas, meaning a full-length film intended for theatrical release rather than streaming. The studio later listed it among future theatrical features in development, according to StarWars.com. Early reports once pointed to a possible late 2023 release, according to The A.V. Club, but that date passed with no production.

For fans, this means the wait continues. Waititi has not left the project. He has simply parked it while other films move first.