Despite Disney CEO Bob Iger Implying Brand Is Damaged, Star Wars Reportedly Moving Full Steam Ahead On Taika Waititi’s Film

Antwan Hovachelik (Taika Waititi) demands answers in Free Guy (2021), 20th Century Studios
Antwan Hovachelik (Taika Waititi) demands answers in Free Guy (2021), 20th Century Studios

In a classic case of ‘one-step forward, two-steps back’, despite Disney CEO Bob Iger recently implying that all of the company’s brands needed to be “curated” in order to improve their quality, alleged company insiders have claimed that Taika Waititi’s previously announced Star Wars project is one project that is still moving forward.

Taika Waititi and Tessa Thompson are moments away from revealing just how little the director cared about Thor: Love and Thunder during an interview with Vanity Fair

Taika Waititi and Tessa Thompson are moments away from revealing just how little the director cared about Thor: Love and Thunder during an interview with Vanity Fair

RELATED: ‘Time Bandits’ Creator Terry Gilliam Reportedly Extremely Unhappy With Taika Waititi’s Upcoming Apple TV Adaptation: “His Disdain For The Entire Project Was Quite Obvious”

This confirmation that Waititi is still on track to visit a galaxy far, far away was first made public on February 16th, courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter.

Per their sources, While Marvel is looking to spend the coming year heavily scaling back “the pace at which we’re putting out the Disney Plus shows” in an effort to help save the brand and stop it from hemorrhaging of money – “Numbers matter now, and costs are going to be outlined and enforced,” asserted one such source –  Star Wars is allegedly seeking to do just the opposite.

(L-R): Grogu, Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) in Lucasfilm's THE MANDALORIAN, season three, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

(L-R): Grogu, Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) in Lucasfilm’s THE MANDALORIAN, season three, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

According to one Disney insiders, not only will the company spend the upcoming year seeking to capitalize on the scheduled releases of AshokaSkeleton Crew, and The Mandalorian Season 3, but they’re also actively working with both Waititi and HBO’s Watchmen creator Damon Lindelof to help bring their respective projects to life.

“Lucasfilm may ramp up,” noted THR’s source, “but it will have to abide by the same fiscal discipline as the rest of the company.”

Jedi in a scene from Lucasfilm's THE MANDALORIAN, season three, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

Jedi in a scene from Lucasfilm’s THE MANDALORIAN, season three, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

RELATED: Chris Hemsworth Says His Return To The MCU Depends On Thor Being Portrayed “Drastically Different” From Taika Waititi’s Bastardization

As noted above, this confirmation that the Thor: Love and Thunder director’s Star Wars outing is still in active development comes just days after Iger tacitly admitted that all of the House of Mouse’s biggest brands were suffering from both oversaturation and a staggering lack of quality.

“We have to be better at curating the Disney and the Pixar and the Marvel and the Star Wars of it all as well,” the Disney boss told attendees during the company’s Q1 2023 earnings call on February 8th. “And of course, reduce costs on everything that we make because, while we’re extremely proud of what’s on the screen, it’s gotten to a point where it’s extraordinarily expensive. And we want all the quality.”

(L-R): Paz Vizsla and the Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) in Lucasfilm's THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT, exclusively on Disney+. © 2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.

(L-R): Paz Vizsla and the Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) in Lucasfilm’s THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT, exclusively on Disney+. © 2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.

“And, of course, reduce costs on everything that we make,” he added. “While we are extremely what’s proud on the screen, it’s gotten to a point where it’s extraordinarily expensive. We want all the quality. We want the quality on the screen, but we have to look at what they cost us.”

Disney’s next Star Wars release, the aforementioned The Mandalorian Season 3, hits Disney Plus on March 1st.

Mandalorians in a scene from Lucasfilm's THE MANDALORIAN, season three, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

Mandalorians in a scene from Lucasfilm’s THE MANDALORIAN, season three, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

NEXT: In Seeming Dig At Taika Waititi, ‘Thor’ Star Chris Hemsworth Says He Refuses To Work With Any More “Mad Genius” Directors

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