Taika Waititi puts his Star Wars movie on ice
Taika Waititi says his long-planned Star Wars feature is paused, though he left open the chance that it could return.
By Bianca Rossi · Entertainment Editor
2 min read
The Taika Waititi Star Wars movie has been put on ice, the filmmaker has said, pausing an untitled feature that has been in development since 2020.
Waititi addressed the project while promoting Klara and the Sun, according to Variety’s account of an interview with Inverse. He said he and an unspecified collaborator were now working on something else, then described the Star Wars film as “very iced.”
That is a pause without a timetable, not a permanent end in Waititi’s own telling. He said he had about four other films he was trying to make, but added that ice ages can end, leaving the project’s eventual future uncertain.
Is Taika Waititi’s Star Wars movie canceled?
Waititi did not say the movie was canceled. His comments establish that the project is currently on hold, with no indication of when, or whether, work might resume.
The film was first announced on May 4, 2020. StarWars.com said at the time that Waititi would direct and co-write a theatrical Star Wars feature, with Krysty Wilson-Cairns joining him on the screenplay. No release date was announced.
The project remained on Lucasfilm’s official development list as recently as April 2025. In that announcement, StarWars.com named Waititi’s film among several theatrical projects in development, while identifying Shawn Levy’s Star Wars: Starfighter as the next Star Wars movie due to begin production.
There had been signs of movement earlier this year. In January, Waititi told Variety that he wanted to recapture some of the fun he remembered from the original films while creating a story more separate from the wider activity in the franchise.
Variety also reported then that Kathleen Kennedy said Waititi had submitted a script she considered “hilarious and great.” Kennedy added that the decision about the film was not hers alone.
Now, the director’s update puts that script and the larger project in limbo. For fans, the clear takeaway is limited but firm: Waititi’s Star Wars film has no announced next step from him, and he is turning his attention to other movies for the time being.
This story draws on original reporting from Variety.