Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy continues to be a divisive figure among Star Wars fans. While much of the hatred she receives is, unfortunately, due to her gender, there's no denying that the executive has made some noteworthy mistakes in recent years.
While the franchise's small screen offerings have been a success, the same can't be said for what we've seen in theaters. Yes, there have been more hits than misses (we think), but it's the fact so many promises have been made which never panned out that's a sticking point for a lot of fans.
New Star Wars trilogies from Rian Johnson and David Benioff and Dan Weiss have failed to materialise, while Patty Jenkins' Rogue Squadron has crashed and burned with no explanation. Oh, and let's not forget how Kevin Feige and Michael Waldron's planned project was never happening...despite being officially announced!
We also have Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi's long-delayed movie.
Having directed and starred in episodes of The Mandalorian, it made sense for him to develop a theatrical project, but Kennedy's assurance it would be released in 2023 obviously proved to be way off base. Back in April, the executive said, "Taika is working away. He’s just, and he won’t get mad at me for saying this, slow. We’ve got a couple of acts, we need a third."
Now, another somewhat disappointing update has come our way from the man himself. Waititi recently presented filmmaker Shawn Levy with the TIFF Tribute Award and joked that it's likely the Deadpool 3 director's planned Star Wars movie will be finished long before his.
"Once he’s had his way with [the Deadpool] franchise, like a cruel and indiscriminate virus, he’ll move on to another, and another, and another. And then eventually, probably Star Wars. And unlike me, maybe this guy manages to finish the script for that."
While these remarks were made in jest, they appear to confirm that work on Waititi's movie isn't progressing the way he'd hoped. It's now been years since it was first announced and, if he and co-writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns simply can't crack that final act, perhaps the project just isn't working as a whole.
Waititi has an impressive body of work both in the big and small budget realms, but Thor: Love and Thunder was not particularly well-received. In fact, there were those who walked out of that movie thinking Thor: Ragnarok might have been a one-off, so having him write and direct a Star Wars movie that's similarly offbeat...well, it may not be what's best for a franchise that Disney CEO Bob Iger is keen to see produce some hits.
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