Taika Waititi gained massive popularity thanks to the success of Thor: Ragnarok last year, but he is not resting on his laurels. Instead, he is already working on his next film, Jojo Rabbit, and this weekend he did a nice job summing up what we can probably expect from the tone of the new movie:
This new picture was posted to Instagram by Taika Waititi this past weekend, showing him on the set of Jojo Rabbit. The movie, which the filmmaker describes as his "anti-fuckface satire" has been in the works for a long time - it made the Black List back in 2012 - and now it's finally getting made, with production already two weeks in. It's noteworthy that Waititi could have made any project after the success of his Marvel movie, and he chose to pursue this. Given his filmmography, that alone is more than enough to get us excited for what he has cooking here.
Of course, what makes us even more excited is the fantastically weird plot description for the film. Based on an original screenplay by the director, Jojo Rabbit is set in the midst of the Nazi rise in Germany in the early 20th century, and centers on a young boy named Jojo (Roman Griffin) and his mother (Scarlett Johansson). An awkward kid, Jojo's best friend is an imaginary vision of Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi) - though his perspective starts to change when he meets and gets to know a young girl (Thomasin McKenzie). As a result, he has to come to terms with some harsh realities and face his biggest fears. Sam Rockwell, who just earned an Academy Award for his performance in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, also has a supporting role, playing a Nazi Captain who runs a Hitler Youth camp, and Rebel Wilson is on-board as well.
As mentioned, this is Taika Watiti's first film after the biggest success of his career - but if you haven't already, you should do yourself a favor and dig into his pre-Marvel work. He made his directorial debut more than a decade ago with 2007's Eagle vs. Shark, and since then he has made some amazing movies, including the coming of age dramedy Boy; the hilarious vampire mockumentary What We Do In the Shadows; and the phenomenal New Zealand-set buddy comedy Hunt For The Wilderpeople. Each of his movies are blessed with his odd sensibilities paired with unexpected tonal blends, and it's exciting to think what that means for Jojo Rabbit.
Fox Searchlight is producing the movie and is set to distribute, though the movie has not yet been given a release date. Hopefully we'll continue to get updates from the production on Taika Waititi's social media accounts, and with any luck they will be just as fantastic as this post.
