La Ron S. Readus
patreon
Should Taika Waititi Direct a Star Wars Movie? (VIDEO SCRIPT)
🕑 Added 2020-01-20 21:01:01 +0000 UTC
Lets talk about Taika Waititi directing Star Wars. No, not that Star Wars.
_______
Readers, these last two years have been...pretty wild for Taika Waititi.
He became the director of Warner Brothers’ live-action adaptation of Akira
Stepped AWAY from Akira to write and direct Thor: Love and Thunder
And work and promote OTHER upcoming projects like 20th Century’s Free Guy, THEN confirmed he’ll be continuing writing and directorial duties on Akira after he’s done with Love and Thunder so he’s just...EVERYWHERE
/So when Hollywood Reporter revealed that talks about him possibly directing a Star Wars movie for LucasFilm began to surface, you can only imagine how some people reacted/
Some people were hip to the idea of him tackling a Star Wars movie knowing how he handled Thor Ragnarok
Others thought that for better or worse, he should stay away from the franchise.
Though in the defense of those voices, I will say that the majority of the ones I saw with this opinion didn’t think he wouldn’t do a good job; they were just worried about his credibility afterward and his well being considering the more toxic spectrum of the franchise’s “Fan Base”
And it’s not like this is just a rumor that’s come out of nowhere; LucasFilm president Kathleen Kennedy has gone on record that she’d love to have Waititi on board for a project after being impressed with how he treated Thor: Ragnarok. That’s pretty much how he ended up directing the season 1 finale of The Mandalorian
So in this case, it’s not a situation of does this have any merit behind it. Because it TOTALLY does.
Instead it’s a case of, should he even DO it.
Do *I* think he should? Yes.
And the reason why I think he SHOULD direct a theatrically released Star Wars movie comes down to three things that he has: Experience, fresh ideas, and respectability.
I start off with “experience” first because I think one of the things that gives Waititi some leeway as far as whether or not he’s a good fit to helm a Star Wars property is the fact that he directed an episode of The Mandalorian: Season 1.
/Yes, it was an episode that was written by Jon Faverau and the majority of the script for that episode wasn’t altered by him, but that’s not to say that you couldn’t get a taste of his directorial style or even his sense of humor in that episode./
Now ever since the first season was released, a lot of people who’ve seen it -- me included -- felt that with all of the “Directors Chair” talent that contributed to the season, every episode that was directed by these individuals outside of Favreau himself were looked at as backdoor auditions by LucasFilm for if they thought they’d be suited to helm feature films.
Don’t worry; the reason why I didn’t mention Deborah Chow is because she recently SECURED her LucasFilm bag because of the same exact situation
And with the next theatrically released Star Wars film coming out in 2022 supposedly being the trilogy David Benioff and D.B. Weiss were working on before they abandoned it to focus on their Netflix deal -- link in the description below if you want my opinion about who should pen that project
Looking at how Rick Famuyiwa, Bryce Dallas Howard and even Taika Waititi faired is a pretty safe bet as to who LucasFilm should turn to as far as carrying on Star Wars in theaters
Also if you’re someone who thinks his work doesn’t really fit Star Wars, that’s ALSO something Waititi directing the season finale of The Mandalorian handled very well
Because after watching the first 7 episodes, watching the finale just shows how respectful he’d be of a writer’s work if he’s just brought on as a director and not a writer-director.
/Over the course of the season finale, despite adding his own take on a pretty meta-joke-made-canon in the Star Wars universe that was actually referenced 2 episodes prior, not once did he shift tone or make things feel out of place from how the rest of the season told its story./
I feel like it was only different in the case of Thor: Ragnarok is because Marvel Studios was purposely seeking out someone that could breathe a new life to Thor and take the franchise in a different direction than the one that they aimed for and sabotaged simultaneously.
/Episode 8 of The Mandalorian is proof that in the case of respectability versus originality, Taika Waititi can do one, the other, or both if need be. And while it shows us that he can respect another creative’s work if it’s part of a greater whole while still adding his uniqueness to the project, his other work where he’s not just limited to being a director has shown us that he can take something possibly tired and breathe new life into it while still respecting where it came from if it’s not 100% an original creation of his./
It’s something a lot of people -- me included -- kinda learned to appreciate about what Rian Johnson did with The Last Jedi for those of us who didn’t care for it during their first watch. I’m personally looking forward to his trilogy of films to see what new thoughts, ideas and stories he brings to the table while still appreciating what was done beforehand.
And despite my feelings about Thor: Ragnarok and my overall opinions about some of the creative decisions used for it -- most of which I touch on in a video explaining the changes I personally would’ve made to the movie
I can’t deny that he did the same thing with Eric Pearson, Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost’s script
I mean it’s no Admiral Holdo being the first in the cinematic timeline to weaponize Lightspeed travel, but he did what he did and people liked it.
The point is that like with Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi, if LucasFilm is looking for someone that can help take the franchise in a new and exciting direction while also knowing what makes Star Wars Star Wars, making the choice with Taika Waititi wouldn’t be a wrong one.
Because that’s where the respectability comes in when it comes to Waititi. It’s what separates him from the original directors of Solo: A Star Wars Story before Ron Howard was brought on board for clean-up duty.
And the perfect example is how he’s treating his live-action adaptation of Akira over at Warner Brothers.
Not only does he have a love for the source material -- both the manga AND the anime movie
But he has SUCH a respect for it that when he was initially hired to co-write and direct it in 2017, one of the first things he did when he initially signed on -- as I explained in my video on the subject -- was un-Americanize and un-whitewash the version of the script that Warner Brothers was originally going to go with.
Like, there’s no doubt that Waititi will still sprinkle his sense of humor seasoning here and there.
But like Episode 8 of the Mandalorian has shown those of us who’ve seen it, that seasoning more than likely won’t consume the majority of the meal’s original flavor variety. Especially if it’s one he has great respect for.
So with that being said, do I think Taika Waititi should direct a Star Wars movie if these reports are true? Basing my decision of experience and merit alone, I say yes.
Especially since LucasFilm realizes now that their direction might need to shift a bit for the franchise after The Rise of Skywalker’s underperformance, and pretty much made some people re-evaluate their initial thoughts and appreciation of The Last Jedi.
Would he do it, though. That’s a completely different question.
But, I digress, Readers; your homework assignment for the day:
Write in the comment section below whether or not YOU think Taika Waititi should direct a Star Wars Movie.
Regardless of what your answer is, I’d LOVE to know your thoughts
