Taika Waititi to direct 'Star Wars' movie

He will write the film with Krysty Wilson-Cairns.

May 4, 2020, 2:50 PM

This Star Wars Day will be a day long remembered for fans. It's the day news broke that fan-favorite director Taika Waititi has been officially tapped to direct a feature film in George Lucas' galaxy far, far away.

Waititi, a New Zealander who recently won the Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award for "Jojo Rabbit," isn't a newcomer to the Star Wars universe. He directed the widely acclaimed season 1 final episode of "The Mandalorian" and also voiced the droid character IG-11 on the Disney+ series. He also can be seen in the first installment of the behind-the-scenes documentary "Disney Sketchbook: The Mandalorian," which debuted today on Disney+.

Waititi's name had been bandied about as a Star Wars film director for some time, but Lucasfilm sources remained tight-lipped. He'll direct and co-write the forthcoming film with Krysty Wilson-Cairns, who wrote the script to the Oscar-winning war drama "1917."

No word when the New Zealander's Star Wars film may debut, but Marvel Studio's "Thor: Love and Thunder" -- the follow-up to "Thor: Ragnarok," which he also directed -- hits theaters Nov. 2021.

Marvel and Star Wars are owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News and "Good Morning America."

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