Ever since Thor: Love and Thunder landed last summer, a cursory glance at the internet makes it abundantly clear that Taika Waititi‘s reputation and standing have taken a serious hit.
Never mind the fact that he’s one of the most consistently and acclaimed filmmakers of the last decade with plenty of critical, commercial, and awards season success under his belt, all it took was one resolutely underwhelming Marvel Cinematic Universe sequel to tarnish his reputation forevermore.
As a result, there are very few people who want to see him return should Chris Hemsworth’s Odinson land a fifth solo outing, while the apathy towards Love and Thunder also nuked the excitement for the filmmaker’s in-development Star Wars movie, which many believed would end up being canceled altogether as Lucasfilm is regularly wont to do.
Instead, though, it was Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron and Kevin Feige’s mystery project that bit the dust, with Waititi’s film surviving the cull. The bombshell also came with the caveat that the Academy Award winner is considering starring as well, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out how some fans reacted to the prospect of the polarizing figure co-writing, directing, and playing a major role in the next blockbuster set in a galaxy far, far away.
It’s definitely worth mentioning that Waititi helmed the stellar finale of The Mandalorian‘s first season, so he can definitely do good work in the Star Wars sandbox. However, it’s going to take a lot more than that to win over the doubters that he can apply that touch to a feature-length epic, especially when he could end up pulling triple duty – or even quadruple duty if he ends up producing, too.