There are few times that something is crystalized into an absolutely perfect answer to a complex question. In the case of Star Wars and Taika Waititi as a potential writer / director, such a moment has occurred.
We’ve seen some troubling issues surrounding Waititi as a writer for Star Wars. It started when Kathleen Kennedy said he’d have his movie ready for cinemas by late 2023. He then came out and said that no, he hadn’t even written the script yet. He wasn’t sure he’d make a Star Wars movie at all. You might imagine that like having someone tell you they’ve hired a contractor to build a home, and then the contractor says that no, they’re don’t even have the blueprints and they’re not sure they’ll do the job. It’s a bit of a gulf between those realities.
The next big concern is under way in the present. Thor: Love and Thunder reviews are coming in and the’yre… rough. The film is bordering on “rotten” among movie critics, and it is rotten with top critics at Rotten Tomatoes. In fact, among the top critics, the score is down in the gutter. Criticisms for the movie are that it is tonally inconsistent, that it leans to heavily into humor, and that the script is a very poorly fashioned piece of narrative. That’s tough because all of that goes straight at the person who wrote and directed the movie: Taika Waitit. It would be thing if this were the result of poor acting or bad CGI, but it’s not. The criticisms are at the person who crafted the story, the structure and the tone.
Now, in a recent interview just made public, we’re finding out that Waititi doesn’t know Star Wars. Like, he doesn’t know Star Wars at all. It’s so bad that he asked Natalie Portman if she’d like to be in his Star Wars movie… because he didn’t know she is the actor behind one of the biggest characters in the franchise. It’s not as bad as asking Mark Hamil if he’d like to try Star Wars out as a new endeavor, but it’s not far away either.
Taika Waititi talking about his 2025 Star Wars film was a dumpster fire:
•Forgot Natalie Portman was in Star Wars.
•Asked if she'd like to be in it.
•Doesn't have time to research the IP.
•Realized his film idea is flawed.Stop hiring people who don't know the franchise. pic.twitter.com/OhneKymAhV
— Dataracer (@Dataracer117) July 6, 2022
As you can see in the tweet, there’s plenty more that is wrong with Mr. Waititi and the way he is approaching this franchise. Any rational or thinking person should surely know from these sorts of statements that this is a person who should not have any impact on a major financial investment that could further harm an important brand. It’s so bad that one might wonder if Waititi is self-sabotaging purposefully. Or maybe he’s just trolling as hard as possible to see how far one can possibly go without being punished if they’re part of the “in crowd” of Hollywood. It’s a bit Eric Cartman I believe. Some people just want to see the galaxy burn.
So no, Taika Waititi should not be anywhere close to Star Wars. It’s already been Rian Johnsoned enough, thank you.
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If he does make a Star Wars film it’ll be a parody but I’m afraid he may also not be aware Spaceballs already exists.
The Natalie Portman comment is obviously a joke about how the prequels don’t exist in his head. Which is worse cause while the prequels are not good movies they are also groundbreaking, highly influential movies that every filmmaker should respect. Just like Tron.
I’m hoping he’s trolling otherwise, this just perfectly demonstrates the problem with Disney Star Wars. There is no passion, no attention to detail. Lucasfilm/Disney are just trying to push out content with little care or understanding of what came before. Until Lucasfilm/Disney learn to respect Star Wars Canon, they will not produce good Star Wars.
And like Doomcock says “Without respect, we reject”
Taika likes to troll a lot and we kinda need a return for SW on the big screen eventually, Pro. Also Dataracer is pretty douchy even when I talked to him about Lucas a couple years ago to where he blocked me.
I dunno that he’s a douche, but he brings home the receipts. That’s why people pay attention to him.
Even worse is Kathleen Kennedy insisting the movie will be done in 2023 as if it’s possible and the audience cares. They need to give the movie some distance from both the Sequel Trilogy and the Disney+ fiascos.