Taika Waititi has become a divisive director after many felt his follow-up to Thor: Ragnarok, Thor: Love and Thunder indulged too much in his quirky humor and featured half-baked dramatic beats. However, prior to that misfire, the New Zealander had only dabbled in big-budget blockbusters with Thor: Ragnarok and his small appearances as Korg in subsequent Marvel Universe films. He had previously received consistent accolades for his other movies, which are smaller comedy productions that include What We Do in the Shadows, Hunt for the Wilderpeople and JoJo Rabbit. And he continues to receive praise for the upcoming soccer comedy, Next Goal Wins.
Waititi’s success with the Thor movies and his relationship with Disney would give him the chance to helm a standalone Star Wars film. Even with his work in the MCU, it remains to be seen how his style can mesh with a Star Wars movie, and it’s still up in the air on what direction he decides to go. On the red carpet for the premiere of Next Goal Wins, Waititi teases what his version of the space opera movie may bring, according to Variety. “It will be … dramatic pause… a Taika Waititi film.” Waititi continued to joke, “It’s gonna piss people off.”
Star Wars has had a tough time with its feature films since Disney bought the franchise. The former George Lucas brand has had more success on TV with Disney+ shows like The Mandalorian. However, quality has been quite varied for the universe, from shows like Andor to Obi-Wan Kenobi to the recent Ahsoka. Kathleen Kennedy has not been able to bring further expanded stories to theaters since the end of the sequel trilogy, and the prequel spin-off, Solo: A Star Wars Story, received a divisive reception.
Meanwhile, Waititi’s aim for Next Goal Wins was to highlight the Pacific Islander culture within the atypical underdog story. Jaiyah Saelua, who served as an inspiration for the film, spoke of Waititi’s vision for this movie, “Taika’s ability to take the true essence of my team and of my culture and my people and relay that in his own unique way, make it his version – I think only he can do that in Hollywood because he’s a Pacific Islander and because it’s a Pacific story. He was able to cast more than 90% Pacific Islanders and even the crew itself was Pacific Islander.”