Image credit: ScreenRant

Never one to miss a marketing opportunity, Disney made a major announcement about its Star Wars franchise on Monday (which, in case you're losing track of what day it is, was May the 4th). Academy Award® winner Taika Waititi, who recently won Best Adapted Screenplay for Jojo Rabbit and directed the widely-acclaimed first season finale episode of The Mandalorian on Disney+, has signed on to direct and co-write the next feature Star Wars film.

Academy Award® nominee Krysty Wilson-Cairns (1917, Last Night in Soho), will join Waititi in writing the screenplay. As of right now, there is no information on a release date or what the film's plot might center around - Star Wars fans are going to have to wait just a little while longer for that.

Disney wasn't done with the announcements, though. In their press release, they also announced that Emmy®-nominated writer Leslye Headland (Russian Doll, Bachelorette) is currently developing a new untitled Star Wars series for Disney+. Headland will write, executive produce, and serve as showrunner for the series, which adds to a growing list of Star Wars stories for Disney’s streaming platform including The Mandalorian, which is now in post-production on Season 2.

After a disappointing box office for The Last Jedi, which grossed far less than both The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, Disney is looking to really deliver on its next steps with the Star Wars franchise.

You can read Disney's full press release here. What do you think: are you excited to see Waititi's take on Star Wars?