After successful work contributing to the direction and acting of The Mandalorian, it was announced in May that Taika Waititi would be directing a Star Wars film of his own.
Little has been said since the announcement of the project, except that Waititi is hard at work with the scriptwriting process. The director is balancing his time in the galaxy far, far away with his work at Marvel Studios.
Thor: Love and Thunder star Chris Hemsworth noted that Waititi was still writing the Marvel film and that filming would take place in January. Therefore, it could be a while before Taika Waititi's Star Wars sees completion.
Despite this, a potential update may have surfaced, providing fans with an idea of some of the scenery they can expect in the film...
NEWS
According to The Daily Record via GamesRadar, a source close to the publication said that three days of shooting would be taking place in Scotland for the Taika Waititi-helmed Star Wars film. Information was obtained from The Daily Record, which mentioned that the shoot was due to take place in December.
It should be noted that GamesRadar speculates that it is unlikely that this will be proper filming, instead acting as location scouting for the film. As Waititi is currently in pre-production for this Star Wars project in addition to Thor: Love and Thunder, it is likely that it is far too early for production to begin.
The source talked a bit about the project, mentioning that the film is still "a few years away:"
It’s great that Star Wars have decided to use Scotland’s breathtaking scenery for some of their first production shots...The film is still a few years away thanks to the COVID crisis but it will be very exciting for fans to hear that the ball has started rolling on this highly anticipated movie.
The source then elaborated on the filming itself, talking about the size of the crew and the focus of the shoot:
Filming will take place in the Highlands and will focus on the hills and surrounding areas. It will likely be a small crew and an assistant director heading to Scotland to film over three days. Star Wars is the latest in a long list of films to showcase Scotland and everything this beautiful country has to offer.
Screen Scotland was unable to confirm whether it was in fact a Star Wars project, though they did mention that the Scottish Highlands "provide a confidential locations service to film and TV productions."
WHAT THIS MEANS
If location scouting is taking place in the Scottish Highlands in December, this means that the area will be covered in snow during this time. This could indicate that the film will be taking place, at least in some part, on some sort of ice planet.
As noted by GamesRadar themselves, the two most prominent snow planets to be featured in Star Wars canon are Hoth and Ilum. Though a specific era has not been defined for the film, it could be interesting for the film to delve into the impact that the Galactic Civil War had on Hoth after the events of The Empire Strikes Back. Alternatively, the film could go into more of the history of the planet pre-Empire, perhaps following a civilization that existed there beforehand.
Ilum is the location where Cal Kestis retrieves a Kyber crystal for his lightsaber in Jedi: Fallen Order. If Taika Waititi's film follows the Jedi Order in some form, this could be an appropriate location for young padawans to obtain a Kyber crystal of their own.
These are only two of countless other ice planets in the Star Wars universe, so there is always a good chance that Waititi's film will be using a more obscure planet or creating a new location entirely.
Taika Waititi's Star Wars movie has yet to receive an official release date, but it is rumored to release in 2024.
