Taika Waititi's Star Wars Movie Put 'On Ice' After 6 Years

Taika Waititi's Star Wars movie is officially on ice. After six years of stop-start development, the Thor: Ragnarok and Jojo Rabbit director has confirmed that his long-gestating trip to a galaxy far, far away is no longer moving forward — and he's already got four other films lined up instead.

Speaking to Inverse in an interview published Sunday, October 18, while promoting his new sci-fi film Klara and the Sun, Waititi delivered the news with his trademark bluntness — and even his publicist couldn't soften it.

What Waititi Actually Said

"I hate to break this to you, but we're going to actually put it on ice and we're working on a different thing together," Waititi told Inverse, referring to screenwriter Tony McNamara (The Favourite, Poor Things), who had taken over scripting duties on the Star Wars project.

When pressed for more details, Waititi checked with his publicist — who promptly shut down the line of questioning. "Well, there's your answer," he said. "I don't even know how to dress it up or make it even vague."

He didn't sugarcoat the project's priority level either: "It's very iced. I've got about four other movies I'm trying to do." Still, he left the door cracked open for a return: "Ice ages do come to an end. Who knows?"

Six Years of Development Hell

Disney first announced in May 2020 that Waititi would co-write and direct a Star Wars movie, months after he directed an episode of The Mandalorian's first season (he also voiced the droid IG-11). At the time, 1917 screenwriter Krysty Wilson-Cairns was attached as co-writer.

The project cycled through writers over the years. Former Lucasfilm executive Kathleen Kennedy confirmed in 2025 that McNamara had joined to overhaul the script, and at one point Lucasfilm was reportedly targeting a late 2023 release. The script was even described internally as promising — but the green light to shoot never came.

The Four Movies Ahead of Star Wars

So what is Waititi making instead? He and McNamara are now collaborating on a different, undisclosed project — and three more are competing for his attention:

• A Charlie and the Chocolate Factory adaptation

• We're Wolves, a sequel to What We Do in the Shadows

• The Incal, an adaptation of the sci-fi graphic novel

• Barn 8, based on Deb Olin Unferth's satirical novel

His latest film, Klara and the Sun, premieres in theaters on October 23.

What This Means for Lucasfilm

Waititi's pause fits a longer pattern: Lucasfilm has announced, delayed, or shelved multiple theatrical Star Wars films since 2017, and the studio has issued no contemporaneous public statement about this one. For fans, the running joke of Waititi's slow development just became the punchline — the movie spent more time in development than some franchises spend in theaters.

Still, as Waititi himself put it: ice ages do come to an end. The question is whether Lucasfilm's theatrical slate thaws before the decade does.

Related: James Gunn Just Killed the Wonder Woman Casting Rumor — another franchise shake-up making headlines.