Hollywood is lucky to have highly imaginative writer, director, and actor Taika Waititi planning to bring his vision to several more intriguing projects in the coming years. Waititi was an up-and-coming director at the time he was tasked with leading the latest Thor movie for the MCU and shocked everyone when he completely redid and reinvigorated the subseries’ established tone. Since then, Waititi has created and starred in several more off-beat projects.
This includes Best Picture nominee Jojo Rabbit, and the highly acclaimed but sadly canceled pirate series Our Flag Means Death. Easily able to star in TV shows that balance comedy and drama as well as mainstream blockbusters, everyone is eager to see what Waititi is doing next, following his reported involvement in future anime movie adaptations as well as upcoming book adaptations.
8 Klara And The Sun
Waititi As Director & Producer
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Waititi has taken on the monumental task of directing Nobel Prize winner Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel Klara and the Sun, about an artificial human brought to be the companion of a grieving family, handling much heavy thematic material.
Related Every Taika Waititi Movie Ranked Taika Waititi has plenty of exciting projects under his belt, but general opinions are mixed regarding which of his comedic adventures is the best
Waititi has wisely brought Jenna Ortega on board to play the titular character, as well as Amy Adams. The movie has been given an unspecified 2025 release date with little additional news, but the confirmed cast and reports of filming suggest that they are on schedule.
7 The Incal
Waititi As Writer & Director
Waititi seems to be nostalgic for his time with the MCU when it comes to The Incal, described as an “epic space opera” about a private investigator who comes into possession of a powerful and highly sought-after artifact. It was reported in 2021 (via Deadline) that Waititi signed on for the adaptation of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s graphic novel, hopefully again bringing a wacky sense of humor and stimulating visuals — although the movie has not moved forward with production since then.
6 James
Waititi As Director
There is also scant information about Waititi’s straightforwardly titled project James, which was only announced in 2024 (via THR). This movie will be based on Percival Everett’s novel of the same name, a reimagining of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim. Everett’s Erasure was adapted into the Oscar-contender American Fiction, drawing attention and other major creatives to his additional works of literature. While Waititi is directing the movie, Steven Spielberg will serve as executive producer.
5 Flash Gordon
Waititi As Writer
Waititi is also getting involved in the nostalgia-fueled reboot trend, announced as the writer of the remake of 1980’s Flash Gordon a few years ago. While recently the Flash Gordon reboot got an uncertain update after three years from a seemingly disinterested producer, it is potentially not Waititi’s top priority with several other projects on his agenda. Flash Gordon also still does not have a confirmed director, with Waititi only working on it as a writer.
4 We’re Wolves
Waititi As Writer & Producer
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Before his Thor days, Waititi wrote, directed, and starred in 2014’s What We Do in the Shadows, which gave rise to the 2019 spinoff series of the same name. Now, Waititi is working on another mockumentary comedy entitled We’re Wolves, detailing the lives of a group of werewolves in New Zealand. Original What We Do in the Shadows co-directer, writer, and star Jemaine Clement is also returning to the project to show how much they have both evolved as creators in the last decade. However, the movie was announced in 2019 with no updates since (via GQ).
3 FING!
Waititi As Lead Actor
Waititi is not only an amazing writer and director, and he is reportedly also rumored to be in talks to star in FING!, based on the children’s book of the same name by David Walliams (via Deadline). The story follows a pair of desperate parents who set out to find a “Fing” for their spoiled daughter after she demands one, leading them on a whimsical and wild adventure into a jungle — a highly imaginative take on childhood that is right up Waititi’s alley.
2 Untitled Taika Waititi Star Wars Film
Waititi As Writer & Director
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Taikai Waititi’s Star Wars movie is more than likely his upcoming project that will get the most attention from Hollywood, given the very nature of the franchise, the cinematic future of which has been uncertain since the conclusion of the Skywalker Saga.
Related 10 Canceled Star Wars Movies & TV Shows We’d Have Loved To See Over the years, Star Wars has seen many different cancelled projects. These movies and shows would have made interesting additions to the franchise.
Ideas for several upcoming Star Wars movies have been tossed around with various hugely famous directors attached to them. Yet the promise of Waititi directing a Star Wars movie creates a lot of anticipation when it could result in an entirely new take on the setting the franchise needs.
1 Akira
Waititi As Writer & Director
A live-action Akira movie has been going through various stages of development hell for nearly two decades, with Waititi becoming the most recent director said to be involved with it in 2019. However, the movie was delayed by the director’s other projects; now, Klara and the Sun might be the sci-fi Akira replacement we’re getting as far as Taika Waititi is concerned — but he did suggest he was still working on it in 2023 (via Inverse).
Source: Deadline, THR, GQ, Inverse