Taika Waititi confirmed to direct new Star Wars movie

It's been confirmed by Deadline that Thor: Ragnarok helmer Taika Waititi will direct the new Star Wars movie. To quote Thor himself, "Yeeesssss!"

Following the completion of the Skywalker saga in 2019's The Rise of Skywalker, the long-running franchise is moving onto pastures new. And it's set to begin with Waititi, who essentially completed his Star Wars dry run with 2017 Marvel blockbuster Thor: Ragnarok. That movie was essentially a deliriously entertaining Flash Gordon riff, restoring a sense of fun to Chris Hemsworth's Asgardian god, so the filmmaker would appear to have the Star Wars chops already.

More importantly, he's also helmed an episode of successful Disney+ series The Mandalorian. Devised by Jon Favreau, the show follows the titular bounty hunter (Pedro Pascal) on a journey through the wastes and underworlds of the Star Wars universe. Waititi helmed the season finale episode, and also voiced droid IG-11.

Waititi recently won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for controversial World War II satire Jojo Rabbit. He also scored critical hits with the delightful likes of Hunt for the Wilderpeople and What We Do In The Shadows, the latter a mockumentary about vampires living in New Zealand.

The new Star Wars movie is co-written by Waititi and 1917's Krysty Wilson-Cairns. Prior to that, Waititi is helming offbeat-sounding football comedy Next Goal Wins, starring Michael Fassbender, Armie Hammer and Elisabeth Moss. That movie has yet to announce its release date, although production wrapped in early 2020.

And the ubiquitous Kiwi helmer is then set to bring us the next instalment of Thor's adventures in Thor: Love and Thunder. The hammer of Mjolnir will be passed to a returning Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), as Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) ascends to the throne of Asgard. Thor, meanwhile, is presumably off exploring the universe with the Guardians of the Galaxy, as per the climax of Avengers: Endgame. Thor: Love and Thunder will hit us in early 2022.

We're sure that's enough Waititi news for now. Let us know @Cineworld if you think he's the perfect choice of Star Wars director.