Taika Waititi’s long-gestating Star Wars film has been shelved for now. The director confirmed the decision to Inverse while promoting Klara and the Sun, saying the project is being ‘put on ice’ and that he and Lucasfilm are ‘working on a different thing together.’
From ‘still alive’ to ‘very iced’
Waititi has been attached to a Star Wars feature since 2020, but it never locked a public date. As recently as January, he talked about returning to the playfulness of the original trilogy, while setting his story in a separate corner of the galaxy. Former Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy had described the film as ‘still somewhat alive.’
The update now is firmer. Waititi said his publicist had cautioned him against saying more, then added that the project is ‘very iced’ and that he has about four other films competing for his time. The phrasing matters: ‘on ice’ is a pause, not a formal cancellation, and it preserves an option to return later without a timeline.
The gap between announcements and dated slates
For media planners and entertainment marketers, the useful framework is the distance between a development announcement and a locked release date. A director attachment is a creative signal, not a media schedule. It cannot carry a merchandising window, a theatrical co-promotion or a streaming launch campaign.
- Waititi remains in the Lucasfilm orbit, but on a different project.
- His Star Wars film has no green light, no date and no return timeline.
- ‘On ice’ means plausible revival, not a near-term campaign asset.
What buyers should do now
Treat the title as inactive in planning decks. Do not reserve budget against an ‘on ice’ project, and do not read the earlier ‘still alive’ line as a schedule signal. Instead, anchor franchise partnerships to Lucasfilm titles with locked dates.
The cost of guessing wrong is budget held against avails that may never open, while confirmed franchise releases capture attention and shelf space. The rule is straightforward: if Lucasfilm has not dated a project, it is development, not inventory.
The shelving also lands as Klara and the Sun draws a mixed response; Variety’s review called Waititi’s comedic approach ‘ruinous.’ That does not decide the Star Wars timeline, but it adds pressure to whichever project the director and Lucasfilm choose to advance next.
What to watch
The next meaningful signal is not another quote about ‘ice ages,’ but whether Lucasfilm dates the replacement project Waititi says they are working on together. Until then, the practical call is simple: keep this one out of active campaign scenarios.
Source: Variety
