Taika Waititi Would “F-cking Love” to Make a Star Wars Movie

Between his success with reviving the Thor franchise for Marvel Studios and being involved in multiple capacities with The Mandalorian, various reports have emerged that claim Taika Waititi is in talks with Lucasfilm to develop a Star Wars film and, while the filmmaker may have largely dismissed these reports, he admits how excited he would be to helm an installment in the franchise. The nature of the entertainment industry often means outlets use vagueries when discussing a filmmaker being involved with a project, such as claiming someone is “in talks” or “has been approached” about a project, as Waititi noted just how informal any discussions about such an endeavor currently stand.

“I wish there was a better story, I’ll put it that way,” Waititi admitted to Variety of the reports. “Are there discussions about the Star Wars film? Like, yeah, I discussed with my friends in 1996 how cool Star Wars was. That’s what they’re going off.”

He added, “I think people see me hanging out with people, especially with Star Wars, and think I’m having some big discussions about it. I would f—ing love to.”

The filmmaker went on to note that he’d only be interested in tackling the project if he felt he was the right fit for something.

“If it was right,” Waititi clarified of his interest in such a project. “I would want to do any kind of movie if it made sense, and if it felt not like career suicide.”

News of Waititi potentially helming such a film initially came from The Hollywood Reporter, one of the more trusted sources of information in the industry. Despite the seeming veracity of the news, Waititi took to social media to share an image of the Fleetwood Mac album “Rumors,” jokingly dismissing those claims.

Interestingly, Lucasfilm’s issues with replacing filmmakers previously caused Waititi to admit that he assumed he would be fired within a week of being hired, while also noting that, unlike filmmakers Phil Lord, Chris Miller, and Colin Trevorrow, he wouldn’t want to direct a Star Wars movie because he likes to finish his films.

During an October 2017 interview, Waititi elaborated on those comments.

“Look, I’m not an idiot.” Waititi shared with Uproxx. “Who would actually say no to Star Wars? Of course, I didn’t send that idea very seriously, it’s more that in light of all the things that were happening over the last couple of months, it would make me a little nervous.”

He added, “It’s such a strong, established property – you recognize it and you recognize the tone with every one of those films. So I can kind of get why, on the studio side, why they feel they have a duty to keep it a certain way. And I’ve been lucky with Thor and Marvel that they can go off in any direction they want really.”

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

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