‘Star Wars’: Taika Waititi Wants To “Expand The World” & Create New Characters For His Upcoming Film

With “Thor: Love And Thunder” hitting theaters next Friday, Taika Waititi‘s Hollywood star continues to ascend. And with another project in the books, the director looks ahead to his upcoming projects: “Next Goal Wins,” another season of “Our Flag Means Death,” and his “Star Wars” film that was announced back in 2020.

After its final episode last night, the long-anticipated Disney+ limited series “Obi-Wan Kenobi” comes to a close. But not without a nice little surprise (spoiler alert for those who haven’t watched yet!).

After nearly 20 years of anticipation, fans of “Star Wars” were excited to welcome back Ewan McGregor in the new Disney+ series, “Obi-Wan Kenobi.” Upon its debut, the series instantly became one of the biggest hits in the short history of the streaming service and earned plenty of love from critics and fans alike.

2. Star WARS is literally in our nameThe franchise’s defense of LGBTQ characters comes as the brand was celebrating Pride month by releasing special covers of its comics during “a time dedicated to uplifting, honoring, and supporting the LGBTQIA+ community’s impact in the world.”The variant covers were “created by LGBTQIA+ artists and showcases LGBTQIA+ characters of the galaxy, featuring trade dress with a rainbow burst and a classic logo with a rainbow trail.” Celebrate #PrideMonth with Jan Bazaldua’s incredible cover for Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #24, out today! More info here: https://t.co/TgLG4au6Bhpic.twitter.com/G82ZFiOYndThe pushback on anti-LGBTQ rhetoric also follows Chris Evans’ defense of ’s inclusion of a gay kiss between two married female characters, which has resulted in the animated film being banned in certain countries. “Every time there’s been social advancement as we wake up, the American story, the human story is one of constant social awakening and growth and that’s what makes us good,” Evans told .

While fans are, of course, excited to see Ewan McGregor return to his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the, aptly titled, “Obi-Wan Kenobi” Disney+ series, there has been equal (if not more) anticipation at the idea of Hayden Christensen returning as Anakin Skywalker, aka Darth Vader. Thankfully, for most people, the hype was well-deserved when we saw the duo face off in a recent episode.

and again in, Rosario Dawson is set to star in her own live-action series on Disney+. The 43-year-old actress will continue to play the Force-sensitive fighter in the upcoming spinoff,, which follows the adventures of the character first established in the animated series . While speaking to ET at  Celebration in Anaheim, California, Dawson gushed over being able to be the “literal physical embodiment” of this character, which comes long after fans campaigned for her to bring the role to life onscreen. “I really love being able to not just try to imagine this character to life, you know, [and] to get to take her on physically,” she said.

Star Wars social media accounts have released a statement defending Obi-Wan Kenobi actor Moses Ingram from racist abuse.“We are proud to welcome Moses Ingram to the Star Wars family and excited for Reva’s story to unfold. If anyone intends to make her feel in any way unwelcome, we have only one thing to say: we resist,” the post reads.“There are more than 20 million sentient species in the Star Wars galaxy, don’t choose to be racist.”The actor, who plays Inquisitor Reva Savander in the Disney+ series, shared on Instagram some of the abusive messages she’s received since the show was released last week.There are more than 20 million sentient species in the Star Wars galaxy, don’t choose to be a racist.— Star Wars (@starwars) May 31, 2022“Long story short, there are hundreds of those,” Ingram said referring to the messages.

Moses Ingram is speaking out against the racist messages she's received since her debut, and the  franchise is backing her up.On Tuesday, the official  Twitter and Instagram accounts spoke out in support of Ingram, who stars as the ambitious new Inquisitor Reva Sevander on the long-awaited Disney+ series. «We are proud to welcome Moses Ingram to the Star Wars family and excited for Reva's story to unfold. If anyone intends to make her feel in any way unwelcome, we have only one thing to say: we resist,» the statement said.

Obi-Wan Kenobi” star Moses Ingram after racist backlash directed at her on social media.“We are proud to welcome Moses Ingram to the Star Wars family and excited for Reva’s story to unfold. If anyone intends to make her feel in any way unwelcome, we have only one thing to say: we resist,” they wrote in a rare statement.“There are more than 20 million sentient species in the Star Wars galaxy, don’t choose to be a racist.”The 29-year-old actress recently revealed that she received “hundreds” of racist messages on social media since the Disney+ series debuted on May 27.Messages the actress shared on her Instagram Stories include the use of the N-word and claims that she was a “diversity hire.”“You won’t be loved or remembered for this acting role,” one toxic fan wrote.“There’s nothing anybody can do about this.

“Obi-Wan Kenobi” last week, where she stars as Reva, the Inquisitor. Reva is obsessed with hunting down Obi-Wan to bring him to Darth Vader; apparently, she believes that she’ll get “what I’m owed” if she does.

Donald Glover is still being considered to play Lando Calrissian in a planned Star Wars spin-off series based on the character.That’s according to Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, who revealed in a new interview with Total Film at Star Wars Celebration last week that she will “never say never” about recasting roles, after Glover played Lando in the flop Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018).An unnamed series centred on Lando, the character originated by Billy Dee Williams in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), has been in development for a number of years. It was first announced to Disney investors as an “event series” in December 2020, with writer-director Justin Simien (Dear White People) attached to the project.Speaking to Total Film, Kennedy made reference to a new Vanity Fair interview that seemed to imply that the franchise had learned its lesson with Solo and would move away from stories featuring legacy characters recast with younger actors.“I never say never [about recasting].

Wrapping up the last bits of “Star Wars” celebration weekend, the content keeps flowing on Disney+. While we’ll get two Lucasfilm live-action shows this year, “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” airing now and “Andor” in late August, we’re also getting two animated series too.

Disney+’s animated series Star Wars: The Bad Batch will premiere its second season on the streaming site in Fall 2022.

The audience at the “Star Wars” Celebration on Saturday got a little surprise before leaving “The Mandalorian” panel. Just as things were wrapping up, Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) showed up and gave the first look at her new standalone show, “Ahsoka,” coming to Disney+ sometime in 2023.

Wilson Chapman editor“The Mandalorian” is expanding its reach across the galaxy.On Saturday, “Mandalorian” executive producers Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau took the stage at Star Wars Celebration for “Mando+,” a panel on the future of the smash-hit “Star Wars” Disney+ series, plus its spin-offs “The Book of Boba Fett” and the upcoming “Ahsoka.”Joining them at onstage at the Anaheim Convention Center was a veritable bounty of guest stars, including the “Mandalorian” himself, Pedro Pascal, his doubles Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder, longtime series director Rick Famuyiwa and recurring cast members Giancarlo Esposito, Carl Weathers, Emily Swallow and Katee Sackhoff. Also in attendance was “The Book of Boba Fett” lead Temuera Morrison and the stars of the upcoming “Ahsoka,” Rosario Dawson and Natasha Liu Bordizzo.

Star Wars spin-off series, Andor – watch it below.On Thursday (May 26), Disney kicked off ‘Star Wars Celebration’, its four-day fan event in Anaheim, California, unveiling a number of teaser trailers, release dates, casting announcements and more.Among the announcements was the first trailer for the Andor, a 12-episode series that acts as a prequel to 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.Set five years ahead of the events of Rogue One, in which Andor (played by Diego Luna) and Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) led a group of rebels on a mission to steal the plans of the original Death Star, Andor will explore Cassian’s backstory as he starts his journey toward becoming a rebel hero.The series will “explore a new perspective from the Star Wars galaxy, focusing on Cassian Andor’s journey to discover the difference he can make. The series brings forward the tale of the burgeoning rebellion against the Empire and how people and planets became involved.

As “Star Wars” fans, there isn’t much to complain about these days, toxic fandom aside. Sure, you can complain about the inconsistent quality in the recent trilogy, and the Disney+ shows have been hit and miss (see “The Book Of Boba Fett”).

Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea has a new role in the latest Star Wars spin-off series, Obi-Wan Kenobi.Warning – major spoilers for Obi-Wan Kenobi aheadFlea appeared in the first two episodes of the new series, which arrived on Disney+ this week (May 27).Obi-Wan Kenobi is set ten years after the events of Revenge Of The Sith. The show will follow Jedi Master Obi-Wan’s “greatest defeat as he witnesses the the downfall and corruption of his best friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, who turned to the dark side as evil Sith Lord Darth Vader,” according to Disney.In the show, Flea plays a bounty hunter called Vect Nehru.