Taika Watiti is one of the most talented filmmakers working today. His quirky sense of humor and Kiwi charm has made him a much sought after writer and director in the world of Hollywood film making.
Waititi is currently enjoying a high point in his career and is putting his trademark talents to good use on a number of projects. He’s jumped into big franchises like Star Wars and Marvel, but what else could he contribute to the movie-making world? Here are 10 franchises that we’d love to see Taika Waititi work on!
STAR TREK
We’ve seen Taika work on Star Wars and we’ve seen J.J. Abrams work on both big Star franchises. It makes sense that Taika should also be given a go at working with one of the biggest sci-fi franchises in the whole world. Star Trek is going through a period of big change.
With a couple of creator-led projects in the works, there’s absolutely room for Waititi to have a go at some of these huge characters. There’s also a number of series he could work on, but Trek’s moral storytelling is perfect for Waititi’s abilities.
ALIEN
The Alien franchise is another that’s in serious need of reviving. While Ridley Scott has pioneered the series and continues to turn out interesting installments to the world, it’s time to pass the project on to another talented director.
We believe Taika Waititi would bring something really fresh and original to this series. We’d love to see what he could do with a world that has been invaded by the Aliens some years in the future. The horror genre isn’t really linked to Waititi which makes it all the more intriguing.
TRANSFORMERS
The Transformers franchise is dead in the water despite the fact that the last installment was so fun. If Hasbro wanted to continue producing films of that caliber then they can bring in a writer and director that knows how to inject life into a dying series.
The series is still trying to work as a period piece in the 70s and 80s, which Waititi would thrive within. It also does best when it relies on cartoonish elements, which this director certainly doesn’t shy away from. It’s a brilliant match.
LORD OF THE RINGS
We haven’t quite seen Waititi work with a sword and sorcery type project. There have been fantasy elements in his other work but never an epic on this scale. It’s something we’d love to see him try his hand at though at it would play off of some of his previous skills.
DC
The DC universe has had a couple of Marvel movie makers work on it now. First, it was Joss Whedon and now James Gunn is taking his turn. Taika Waititi has actually appeared in a DC film in the past… one that we definitely don’t talk about!
We couldn’t tell you which property we think Waititi would be best suited for as there are so many options. The most likely pick is something related to Booster Gold and Blue Beetle, but he could also take on a serious project like a Batman film.
HARRY POTTER
The Harry Potter franchise has been produced under some excellent people. With David Yates working on the most films, the likes of Chris Columbus and Alfonso Cuaron have also worked on these magical movies.
Much like Lord of the Rings, it would be fascinating for Waititi to work in this fantasy setting. The Fantastic Beasts franchise especially needs a new lease of life and perhaps he could contribute this, giving the series a new tone and direction.
X-MEN
We’ve seen this writer and director work on the Thor franchise for Marvel. But now that phase 4 and 5 is approaching, we’d love to see him work with a few other characters. In our opinion, Waititi should absolutely be put onto the X-Men franchise for Marvel.
His films usually talk about outsiders to society and sometimes deal with systematic prejudice or characters that really don’t feel like they belong anywhere. This is exactly what the mutants are all about meaning his skills are perfect for the role.
JAMES BOND
The James Bond franchise is also set to undergo a major transformation. With our current 007 leaving very soon, the series needs a completely new direction and an overhaul of everything we’ve seen so far.
To recapture the fun of the franchise it’s best to look to the past. The years of the over-the-top gadgets and quirky villains should be brought back. There’s an obvious man for this job if that’s the route that is being chosen for the series.
TERMINATOR
The Terminator has been in cinemas very recently and felt as fun as it did when the original two hit the big screens. There won’t be any more of the robotic assassin for some time though, as the box office isn’t that brilliant for the latest installment.
There’s so much more that can be done with this world though and we really want a completely different filmmaker to take over and explore some other aspects of the Terminator universe. Perhaps we could even finally have one without the original machine.
DOCTOR WHO
The series has had some unbelievable talent work on it in the past. You’d expect the likes of Taika Waititi to avoid the BBC show but when people like Peter Jackson have said they want to work on it it’s difficult to ignore the call.
There are so many possibilities for Taika to work with. He could just write an episode, much like Neil Gaiman has in the past, and produce a completely wacky story that would on work in the world of the time lord.
