Black Widow actress Scarlett Johansson publicly sued Disney during the summer because of a dispute over Disney shutting her out from participating in Disney+ revenue for the Marvel Studios film, which subsequently dinged her bonuses based on box office earnings. They eventually settled out of court when Disney’s big smear campaign against the actress backfired hard and almost led to The Russo Brothers backing out of a new potential project at Marvel.
After the dust settled, there was a report that she would still make Disney’s Terror of Tower movie, based on the horror attraction from their parks. It looks like they might have secured a director.
The Disinsider now is reporting that Kiwi director Taika Waititi has “signed on” to direct.
This would be a reunion as the two previously worked on the Oscar-winning comedic drama Jojo Rabbit, which focused on a family hiding a Jewish girl in Nazi Germany as the young son, Jojo, is being indoctrinated in the Hitler Youth.
Taika Waititi is a busy lad as his films Next Goal Wins and Thor: Love & Thunder still have to be released. He’s also developing a new live-action Flash Gordon movie for 20th Century Studios and is still chipping away on a script for an untitled Star Wars film.
It’s worth mentioning that Taika is currently in post with his Thor sequel and his Star Wars script hasn’t been completed, as Patty Jenkins’ Star Wars: Rogue Squadron is the priority and goes into production next year at Pinewood Studios UK. There haven’t been any real signs of what his next film project will be.
Tower of Terror isn’t the only family-friendly horror project at Disney as they’re shooting a new incarnation of Haunted Mansion with director Justin Simien (Dear White People), another Star Wars creative that is developing the Lando series for Lucasfilm.
Josh Cooley (Toy Story 4, Inside Out) had been previously announced as the film’s screenwriter, but if Waititi is involved he’ll likely add his own polishes to the script given the Jojo Rabbit screenwriter won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.
JOJO RABBIT – Writer-director Taika Waititi (THOR: RAGNAROK, HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE), brings his signature style of humor and pathos to his latest film, JOJO RABBIT, a World War II satire that follows a lonely German boy (Roman Griffin Davis as JoJo) whose world view is turned upside down when he discovers his single mother (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a young Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) in their attic. Aided only by his idiotic imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi), Jojo must confront his blind nationalism.
SOURCE: THE DISINIDER
THE RONIN 