Taika Waititi is confirmed as the director and co-writer of a new Star Wars film

On Monday, Disney confirmed that the Oscar winner Taika Waititi will direct and co-write a new Star Wars feature film. His co-writer of this as-of-now-unnamed project will be Krysty Wilson-Crains who previously worked with Sam Mendes on the British drama 1917. Symbolically announcing the news on this date - known among the Star Wars fans as May the Fourth - Disney and Lucasfilm confirmed the rumour of Waititi's further involvement in the space-opera universe that has been circulating since January.

Previously, the director and writer has appeared in The Mandalorian, playing the bounty hunter droid IG-11 while also directing the season finale of the Disney+ series. The New Zeeland filmmaker has built an impressive resume, having directed Thor: Ragnarok in 2017, before winning an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for his comedy-drama  Jojo Rabbit. Meanwhile, before her work on 1917, Wilson-Cairns worked as a staff writer for the TV series Penny Dreadful (2014-2016), catching the industry's attention after her screenplay for a science fiction thriller Aether ended up on Black List, an annual survey of the most interesting unproduced screenplays.

Published on Star Wars official website, this announcement also contained news about a second, untitled, Star Wars series for Disney+. The writer of the project is Emmy-nominee Leslye Headland, from Netflix's Russian Doll, who is set to executive produce, write and act as the showrunner. The release date for both titles is still unknown.