Actor and filmmaker Taika Waititi to direct new Star Wars film

Taika Waititi, the New Zealand actor and filmmaker of Jojo Rabbit and Thor: Ragnarok is set to direct a new Star Wars film.

Waititi won an Oscar for best adapted screenplay for the Nazi satire Jojo Rabbit earlier this year, in which he cast himself as Hitler (although a buffoonish fantasy one conjured up by the film’s protagonist).

Disney waited until May 4 – or Star Wars Day – to announce Waititi’s hire.

He has already had a taste of the Star Wars universe, directing the season finale of The Mandalorian, a Star Wars spinoff, and voicing the droid IG-11.