Lucasfilm President Wants Taika Waititi To Direct A Star Wars Movie

The Thor: Ragnarok director is being offered another expensive toy box to play around in.

Taika Waititi, the Kiwi writer, director, and Korg-voicer known for What We Do in the Shadows, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, and the third Thor movie, has gotten a high-profile public offer to direct a Star Wars film from no less than Kathleen Kennedy, the president of Lucasfilm.

Kennedy's fondness for Waititi came up during an interview with the New Zealand-based Newshub. Chatting with Kennedy at a Last Jedi promotional event in Tokyo, the interviewer used the occasion to do a little rallying for New Zealand's hometown hero, asking Kennedy if she would ever consider Waititi for the director's chair on a Star Wars film.

"I would love for him to direct a Star Wars movie," Kennedy replied.

Lest you think she's just being polite, Kennedy elaborated on why Waititi would be a good fit.

"I think he has exactly the right sensibility," Kennedy said. "It was very exciting to see him step into the Marvel universe and do such an amazing job with Thor."

"Let him know," Kennedy added.

One could make the argument that Kennedy is just being gracious with her comments, but she doesn't appear to have much of a reason to lie. Based on the recent history of the Star Wars franchise post-Lucas, it's clear the studio is looking for directors who play by a particular set of rules. 

It's been well-documented that anyone found to be straying from those rules—Josh Trank, Miller & Lord, Colin Trevorrow, Gareth Edwards—has gotten sidelined on their movie or fired and outright replaced. Waititi found success for himself and Marvel Studios both while playing by their house rules, so it stands to reason that he could do the same with Star Wars. 

Not that the filmmaker is necessarily interested. Waititi previously made light of all the directors that have been shown the door by Lucasfilm since the company was sold to Disney, joking on Twitter that he wouldn't take a Star Wars job because "I like to complete my films."

"I'd be fired within a week," Waititi added.

That may all still be true, but maybe Waititi will sing a different tune now that he knows he has an open offer to at least pitch something for one of the biggest film franchises of all time. That's not the kind of opportunity one comes by too easily, after all. In a world where The Phantom Menace already exists, what's the worst that could happen?