Taika Waititi’s Star Wars movie is on hold, and the director says so himself. In an interview with Inverse during the press run for Klara and the Sun, he was asked where he and writer Tony McNamara stood on the project. IGN reports that his answer was blunt: “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.”
He didn’t soften it. Waititi added that he couldn’t “dress it up or make it even vague”, calling the film “very iced” and saying he has about four other movies he’s trying to get made. That suggests the Star Wars film has slipped down a queue rather than been formally cancelled, though he hasn’t said what the new project with McNamara is.
Six years of waiting
The project has been slow from the start. Reports of Disney and Lucasfilm approaching Waititi go back to January 2020, and an official announcement followed a few months later. In 2021 he said he’d finished the story, and in 2022 then-Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said the aim was a late 2023 release, while admitting nothing was locked in. Updates thinned out after he said he’d prioritise other work, and Kennedy later described the film as “still somewhat alive” around her Lucasfilm exit.
Waititi’s last word came earlier this year, when he promised the film would “harness a little bit more of the fun from the original trilogy.” Empire notes that he isn’t closing the door entirely, and he told Inverse, “Ice ages do come to an end. Who knows?”
Lucasfilm has since moved on to other plans, including Jon Watts directing the next film in a new Skywalker Saga trilogy. Waititi’s film was always meant to be a separate original story, so that slate doesn’t depend on it.
Klara and the Sun arrives to a cold reception
The timing is awkward for Waititi. Klara and the Sun, his adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel, opens in US and UK cinemas on 23 October, with Jenna Ortega, Amy Adams, Steve Buscemi and Natasha Lyonne among the cast. IGN says early reviews have been rough, with a 23% Rotten Tomatoes score after 12 reviews so far.
We haven’t seen a UAE release date for the film, so check local cinema listings if you plan to catch it. As for the Star Wars movie, there’s no timeline, no title and no synopsis, and Lucasfilm hasn’t announced anything of its own.
Is Taika Waititi’s Star Wars movie cancelled?
Not officially. Waititi says it’s “on ice” and that he and McNamara are working on something else, but he also said “Ice ages do come to an end”, so he hasn’t ruled out a return.
What is Waititi working on instead?
He hasn’t said. He told Inverse he and Tony McNamara are working on “a different thing together” and that he has about four other movies he’s trying to do.
When does Klara and the Sun come out?
It opens in US and UK cinemas on 23 October 2026. We haven’t confirmed UAE dates yet.
