Star Wars project on indefinite hold as cancellation rumors continue

It's been an interesting couple of months for the Star Wars community. In spite of positive reviews and a strong opening performance with its premiere, fan-favorite series The Acolyte was cancelled due to declining viewership throughout its run. It's a shame for multiple reasons, but it also marks the first of the Star Wars Disney Plus shows to get a definitive cancellation, leaving the future of the characters involved up in the air and that chapter of the galaxy so far, far away unfinished.

The Star Wars saga has expanded ever since the arrival of the Disney Plus streaming service, with successful shows like The Mandalorian and Obi-Wan Kenobi suggesting that the future of one of cinema's biggest movie franchises might be on the small screen. But that's not the case, as there are multiple Star Wars movies still in development - including The Mandalorian and Grogu.

Unfortunately, however, it sounds like one of them could be in jeopardy.

Taika Waititi's Star Wars movie reportedly on indefinite hold

Taika Waititi's trip to that galaxy so far. far away might be a bit longer than anticipated. The director is set to step behind the camera to bring a Star Wars movie to life, but according to veteran industry insider Daniel Richtman, the project is now on "indefinite hold".

This is another blow that the Star Wars franchise didn't exactly need, but it's also not that surprising given that it isn't the first time that the movie itself has been called into question. The project was first announced back in 2020, shortly after Waititi won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Jojo Rabbit. It also came off the back of him directing the season 1 finale for The Mandalorian, which had fans extremely excited to see what he brought to his own film. But in the four years since the project's announcement, updates have been slim.

Fans had been speculating that the project had been quietly cancelled due to some of the recent lacklustre performances from installments in both the Star Wars and Marvel franchises (both of which are owned by Disney), but Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy confirmed that the project was still in the works as of last April, joking that "Taika's a little slow" but that the project is "great" and that they are "definitely still doing" it.

Waititi then spoke to Entertainment Tonight about the project some months after that, and although he confirmed he was still "developing something" with Lucasfilm, he revealed that it would likely be pushed due to his busy schedule as he didn't want to rush things.

"I'm still developing something with them... I think they're gonna push it until I finish these other projects. I've got about four other scripts that I'm trying to finish. My thing is I want to take my time with that and get it right. I don't want to rush this movie."

This reiterated Kathleen Kennedy's comments about the project and it also may have telegraphed this apparent "indefinite hold" that the movie is reportedly on. Given that this interview with the director himself is almost a full year ago, it does beg the question of if anything has changed and whether the future of his Star Wars project is in jeopardy.

Interestingly, it comes along at a time when Richtman also reports that a Marvel Studios movie that was previously announced in 2020 is also on hold. Armor Wars was announced back at Disney Investor Day 2020, but the studio hasn't been able to get it into production in the four years since then, resulting in it reportedly winding up on hold (with a cancellation a possibility).

Speaking of Marvel, Waititi isn't expected to return to direct the fifth Thor movie. His first outing, Thor: Ragnarok, was acclaimed for making the Thor franchise light-hearted and fun. His second, however, Thor: Love and Thunder, was divisive for that same reason, dropping the ball on a number of compelling storylines in favor of silly storytelling.

The director sounds like he will have many projects on his plate to make up for that, but the question is: Will his Star Wars movie be one of them?