We Might Know The Plot Of Taika Waititi's 'Star Wars' Film
Disney Investor Day was on December 10, but it still feels like yesterday, given the huge impact that the announcement of future Star Wars projects had on the fans. We got announcements and updates pertaining to ten Disney+ shows for the franchise, and we even got an update on the feature film side of things. On Disney+, we are getting an animated feature film titled A Droid Story, featuring the classic duo of Artoo and Threepio as they guide a new character. On the theatrical side of things, we got confirmation that the next theatrical film will be Rogue Squadron, which is currently targeting (See what I did there?) a December 2023 release. This Patty Jenkins-directed film took people by surprise, given that we had not heard prior that she was in talks or attached to anything. One name that we had heard, however, was Taika Waititi.
Known for directing such hits as Thor: Ragnarok and Jojo Rabbit, Taika found himself in Star Wars via The Mandalorian season 1, where he voiced IG-11. He even directed the season finale, "Chapter 8: The Redemption." On Disney Investor Day, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy provided a bit of an update on Waititi's project:
"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 the details are scarce, people have pointed out the potential clues. For one, the Star Wars logo that appeared behind Kennedy looks like stone and may bring a logo for Ben-Hur to mind, thus suggesting that Waititi's film will take place an even longer time ago. Another potential clue came in the form of something shaped like a diamond floating in space behind Kennedy.
Speculation has pointed to the possibility that this may be the pyramid-like ship/weapon Tho Yor, which, in Dawn of the Jedi stories from Legends, transported Force-sensitive ancestors of the Je'daii Order to Tython. According to the lore of Legends, the First Migration via Tho Yor took place 36,453 BBY, over 10,000 years before the actual Dawn of the Jedi stories take place. We recently saw the planet Tython in The Mandalorian season 2, so the planet is certainly on the minds of those over at Lucasfilm. If Waititi's film is taking inspiration from Dawn of the Jedi, that is pretty wild. Dawn of the Jedi stories were being published 2012-2014, in the waning days of the old Expanded Universe around the time of the Disney buyout, leading up to the declaration that the Expanded Universe is now considered Legends. But as we have seen in Star Wars media over the last few years, creators are still willing to take inspiration from Legends.
While Waititi could theoretically adapt stories that have already been told, something tells me that he will try to do his own thing. Maybe we will see a Jedi origin story that does not quite line up with Legends as neatly as some might want. Or perhaps he can tell a story around the era, without overlapping with certain things that happen in the stories that have already been told. While there are multiple options, it seems like a safe bet that Waititi's film is going the furthest in the past that Star Wars canon has gone. Fans like me have been desperately aching for more Jedi-focused stories. Jedi: Fallen Order and The High Republic are steps in that direction, but Waititi's film could really go outside of the bounds of what people expect. And given that Kennedy mentions his sense of humor, we should at least expect that whatever he makes could potentially be funny. As of now, December 2025 seems to be the earliest that we may get this film. Hopefully, it will be worth the wait.
Source(s): Inverse