Thor franchise director Taika Waititi (JoJo Rabbit, Free Guy) is about to take a break from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to enter a galaxy far, far away. The Oscar winner has become one of the hottest commodities in Hollywood, and Lucasfilm, Ltd. is the next studio to reap the rewards of working with Waititi.
Waititi has been working on his upcoming Star Wars movie for several years, but thanks to some reshuffling in the Lucasfilm release schedule — which saw Patty Jenkins’s Star Wars: Rogue Squadron moved from 2023 to 2007 — Star Wars fans could see his installment in the Star Wars saga sooner rather than later.
Recently, the director jokingly tortured the fandom by joking that his film will feature a plot about much-maligned prequel trilogy character Jar Jar Binks (Ahmed Best).
Waititi’s project was originally slated for a 2025 release, with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige’s movie in the 2027 spot that Rogue Squadron now occupies. Lucasfilm has not confirmed which movie will be moved up to next year.
Both Waititi and Feige have been working on script writing and location scouting. Next to nothing is known about the direction Feige’s film will take — unsurprising given his commitment to secrecy with the Marvel Cinematic Universe — but many Star Wars fans believe that Waititi’s plot was already spoiled at The Walt Disney Company’s 2020 Investor Day.
“Star Wars’ theatrical slate is pushing forward into a new future era. Taika’s approach to Star Wars will be fresh, unexpected, and unique. His enormous talent and sense of humor will ensure audiences are in for an unforgettable ride.”
While Kennedy said this, a brand new Star Wars logo [above] — that looks a bit “stone age” instead of “space-age” — appeared on the screen behind her. The logo appears to be made from cracked rocks and almost has a The Flintstones vibe, indicating that we could be traveling way back in time for Waititi’s Star Wars movie installment.
Viewers noticed another intriguing potential plot clue during Kennedy’s December 10, 2020 presentation. At one point, a diamond-shaped ship appeared on the screen, seemingly hurtling toward an unknown planet.
The floating pyramid-shaped structure bears a resemblance to Tho Yor, a great pyramidal ship and weapon that housed the Force-sensitive predecessors to the Jedi during the “First Migration.” Tho Yor is featured prominently in Dawn of the Jedi, a sub-series within the Star Wars franchise that encompasses both a 2012-2014 comic book series and a 2013 novel by Tim Lebbon. While Kennedy didn’t acknowledge whether the strange structure behind her was in fact Tho Yor, that hasn’t stopped fans from connecting the dots themselves….
…What makes this theory extra interesting is that Dawn of the Jedi is a “non-canon” story, as part of the pre-Disney “Legends” family of extended universe stories. Lucasfilm has made it clear that material from Legends isn’t off-limits. (The inclusion of Thrawn in new, recent stories is proof that Legends can and will be recycled.) Since Taika Waititi can theoretically and legally adapt Dawn of the Jedi, fans suspect his movie is in fact his own take on Dawn of the Jedi.
Credit: Disney Investor Day 2020 Livestream
