Taika Waititi’s Star Wars Movie Officially Put ‘On Ice’ After Another Critical Disaster

Fans waiting for Taika Waititi‘s Star Wars movie will have to keep waiting. The Thor: Ragnarok director has confirmed the long-delayed project is on hold. While promoting his new film Klara and the Sun, Waititi told Inverse that he and writer Tony McNamara have moved on to something else.

McNamara, who wrote The Favourite and Poor Things, had previously joined Star Wars to write the script after Waititi decided to focus on directing. Waititi shared:

When asked for more details, he turned to his publicist, who replied, “If you have to ask, the answer is no.” Waititi laughed it off, adding, “Well, there’s your answer. I don’t even know how to dress it up or make it even vague.” However, he did once again confirm the state of his Star Wars movie, sharing:

Those projects include a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory film, the What We Do in the Shadows follow-up We’re Wolves, The Incal, and Barn 8. Still, he left a tiny door open for the franchise’s fans, sharing, “Ice ages do come to an end. Who knows?”

Taika Waititi’s Klara and the Sun Opens With Disappointing RT Score

Taika Waititi’s latest film, Klara and the Sun, premiered at the BFI London Film Festival and opened to a weak 25% score on Rotten Tomatoes, based on its first 12 reviews. That number is particularly concerning for both Waititi and star Jenna Ortega, who appeared to have hit a slump.

Adapted from Nobel Prize winner Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel, the movie stars Ortega as Klara, a robot “Artificial Friend” bought to keep a sick teenager named Josie company. Amy Adams plays Josie’s grieving mother, while Steve Buscemi and Natasha Lyonne co-star. The film opens in theaters on October 23.

Most critics felt Waititi’s playful style clashed with the sad tone of Ishiguro’s book. Deadline‘s Damon Wise wrote that the film “just doesn’t deliver on any of the fronts it promises,” sharing that the movie couldn’t “quite capture the subtleties of speculative literary sci-fi.”

The Guardian‘s Peter Bradshaw was even harsher, sharing that “Waititi detonates an explosion of postmodern quirkiness and ironic dorkiness” in the movie. He further described it as an “unbearably mannered, unspeakably acted film.”

Still, not everyone was unhappy. David Calhoun of Screen Daily gave it a fresh review, praising its “strong performances and imaginative visuals” and calling it “an engaging fairytale.” Even he felt the story lost something by moving away from Klara’s view.

This marks another critical stumble for Waititi after Thor: Love and Thunder. His sports drama, Next Goal Wins, also divided critics.

Everything We Know About Taika Waititi’s Star Wars Movie So Far

Taika Waititi | Credits: Gage Skidmore, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Lucasfilm first announced Waititi’s Star Wars movie back in 2020, with 1917 co-writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns working on the script. In 2022, then-Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy shared with Total Film that it was aiming for a late 2023 release, saying, “Yeah. Well, not 2023, but late 2023.” But that date came and went without any real sign of progress.

The project finally got a small but hopeful boost at Star Wars Celebration 2025, when Tony McNamara was revealed as the new writer. Waititi never shared any plot details, but he hinted that his film would expand the galaxy in new ways. In an interview with Variety earlier this year, Waititi shared:

Now, with the project frozen, the only Star Wars film with a confirmed date is Shawn Levy’s Star Wars: Starfighter. Starring Ryan Gosling, it hits theaters on May 28, 2027. Seven other announced Star Wars movies are still waiting for updates. On the TV side, Ahsoka Season 2 is set to arrive on Disney+ on January 20, 2027.

Are you disappointed about Waititi’s new Star Wars update? Let us know in the comments below!