Star Wars: Taika Waititi Film Could Hit Theaters Before Rogue Squadron

As it currently stands, Patty Jenkins’ Star Wars: Rogue Squadron is slated to hit theaters on December 22, 2023, though a recent report in Vanity Fair notes that the untitled Star Wars film from Taika Waititi and Krysty Wilson-Cairns is expected to be the next film in the franchise to land in theaters. Given that this film also has no reported production-start date, and with Waititi currently wrapped up in promotion for Thor: Love and Thunder, this will likely spark speculation among fans about Rogue Squadron being delayed from its current release date for the Waititi and Cairns project, though with Star Wars Celebration right around the corner, it’s possible that event will confirm a number of details about the franchise’s future.

The outlet’s report claims, “A movie from Jojo Rabbit‘s Taika Waititi and 1917 screenwriter Krysty Wilson-Cairns will likely arrive first, with Rogue Squadron from Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins further off.”

Rogue Squadron was announced back in 2020 and touted a 2022 release date, only for the impact of the coronavirus pandemic to see Disney overhaul their theatrical slate in the subsequent months. With each passing month in 2021, no announcements about the project moving forward was revealed, while last November saw reports circulate that the project was unlikely to head into production in 2022. 

Waititi has only offered a handful of vague updates about his Star Wars film, none of which offer much insight into what the narrative of the story could be. Last summer, he did confirm that he hoped it would be his follow-up to the new Thor movie.

“I don’t know if that’s going to be Star Wars,” Waititi replied to The Sydney Morning Herald when asked what’s next after Thor: Love and Thunder. “I hope it’ll be that but there’s a whole lot of other little things that I’ve got my sticky little fingers attached to so we’ll see.”

Shortly after these remarks, Waititi confirmed that he and Cairns at least had a story in mind for their adventure, though it was still early stages of the actual writing process.

“It’s still in the ‘EXT. SPACE’ stage,” Waititi joked with Wired UK about the status of the script. “But we’ve got a story. I’m really excited by it because it feels very me.”

He continued, “I tend to go down that little sincerity alleyway in my films. I like to fool the viewer into thinking ‘ha it’s this’ and then them going, ‘Damn it, you made me feel something!’”

Stay tuned for details on the future of the Star Wars franchise.

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