The director, attached to the project since 2020, says it has been put on ice while he juggles about four other films.
New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi has confirmed that his Star Wars film, which he has been attached to write and direct since 2020, is on hold. The confirmation came while he was promoting Klara and the Sun, his adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's bestselling novel. Asked about the project's future by Inverse, he gave a direct answer.
"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. His publicist reportedly told him not to say more.
"Well, there's your answer," Waititi said. He added this about the wording:
"I don't even know how to dress it up or make it even vague."
He said the project was "very iced" and added that he has "about four other movies I'm trying to do." On its future, he ended on a note of uncertainty: "Ice ages do come to an end… Who knows?"
The film was first announced in 2020, and its future was already in doubt. Outgoing Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy had earlier described it as "still somewhat alive."
In January, Waititi had laid out his plans for the film. He said at the time that he was trying to go back and harness a little bit more of the fun from the original films, which is what he remembers from them.
Kennedy, in her exit interview with Deadline in January 2026, said Waititi had "turned in a script that I think is hilarious and great. It's not just my decision, especially when I've got a foot out the door."
Klara and the Sun stars Jenna Ortega, Amy Adams and Natasha Lyonne, and is due in cinemas on 23 October 2026. Variety says the film has met a mixed response from critics and fans. Variety's Guy Lodge wrote in his review that "Jenna Ortega tries hard to illuminate this misbegotten Kazuo Ishiguro adaptation, but Waititi's decision to play it for strained, whimsical comedy is ruinous."
In a separate interview with Rolling Stone AU/NZ, Waititi said he hopes to begin filming James, an adaptation of Percival Everett's novel, in 2027. He and Jemaine Clement are still working on a sequel to What We Do in the Shadows, their 2014 mockumentary, though the project remains in its early stages.
Star Wars: Starfighter, directed by Shawn Levy and starring Ryan Gosling, is scheduled for theatres on 28 May 2027.
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