Taika Waititi Throws Playful Shade At Lucasfilm’s Director Drama

If the trailers for “Thor: Ragnarok” are any indication, writer-director Taika Waititi has spared no effort bringing his peculiar, irresistible brand of New Zealand irreverence to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But as the film’s November 3 opening day approaches, Waititi seems to be doling out plenty of hot takes in interviews and on social media, where yesterday he took a playful shot at Lucasfilm after a Twitter follower suggested he replace Colin Trevorrow on “Star Wars: Episode IX.”

READ MORE: Colin Trevorrow Exits ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’

https://twitter.com/TaikaWaititi/status/905245458209038336

https://twitter.com/TaikaWaititi/status/905245654863056897

Plenty of armchair pundits flocked to social media offering their thoughts about Trevorrow’s departure, which marks the third public “breakup” since Lucasfilm announced its plan to create a sweeping, multilayered universe of “Star Wars” stories. (“Fantastic Four” director Josh Trank left his “Star Wars” spinoff film in 2015, and “21 Jump Street” helmers Phil Lord and Chris Miller were fired from their “young Han Solo” project in June and replaced by Ron Howard.) Waititi was quick to throw out a follow-up jab at his own expense, but given the tight reins that Kathleen Kennedy has maintained on the company’s growing cinematic empire, there’s undoubtedly a nugget of truth in the filmmaker’s contention he would perhaps immediately butt heads with studio brass.

Ron Howard Is Perfect For ‘Han Solo’…At Least For Lucasfilm

In the meantime, Waititi also threw shade at Hollywood screenwriters in a recent interview with The Los Angeles Times, where he lampooned their often-simplistic portraits of female characters. “There’s one word I hate in all scripts in Hollywood at the moment in describing women, and that is the word ‘badass’,” Waititi told the Times. “That word has just crept into every script that is pushed around this town now.”

“It’s terrible, because it doesn’t mean anything. It’s a dumb male writer’s way of saying, ‘Ah, uh, she’s like, she, uh, she’s tough.’ Then straight after that it’s like, ‘She’s badass, but she’s got a beauty about her. And she’s sexy. Unconsciously sexy.’”

New Trailer For Marvel’s ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ Brings The Noise

Lest anyone thinks Waititi only targets other people’s films with his mischievous sense of humor, he took to Twitter just a day later to goof on “Ragnarok” star Mark Ruffalo:

https://twitter.com/TaikaWaititi/status/905475427270967296

“Thor: Ragnarok” opens nationwide on Nov. 3.