Though he made his directorial debut back in 2007, Taika Waititi has truly made a name for himself in the world of filmmaking in these past few years in particular with Thor: Ragnarok and the 2020 Best Picture nominee, Jojo Rabbit. Looking forward, Waititi has no shortage of upcoming projects to call his own, between Thor: Love and Thunder and a planned Star Wars film. Now the writer/director/actor has announced that he has added another project to his slate, as he will adapt the beloved French graphic novel series The Incal as an upcoming movie.
The filmmaker made the announcement via Instagram, sharing that he’d be making the movie with the blessings of the comic’s creator, Alejandro Jodorowsky. Taika Waititi also shared that his frequent collaborator Jemaine Clement, with whom he collaborated on Flight of the Conchords and What We Do In The Shadows, will also be involved, alongside Ghost Team screenwriter Peter Warren.
Taika Waititi will co-write and direct The Incal, based on the 1970s comic book space opera that centers on a reluctant hero who is tasked with saving the universe. Alejandro Jodorowsky is well known for his ambitious attempts to direct his own version of Frank Herbert’s Dune, but his vision was never realized cinematically. In hopes to salvage some of the concepts and artwork he and illustrator Jean Giraud worked on for the project, they created The Incal and it has since become a critically-acclaimed work that Waititi refers to as a “masterpiece.”
The Incal follows a private investigator named John Difool, who Taika Waititi compares to Jack Nicholson’s character in Chinatown. The Thor: Love and Thunder filmmaker shared that he loves the idea of a character who has no idea what they are doing with their life being faced with a great task like rescuing the universe. The story sees a ragtag crew of people working with Difool after discovering a mystical artifact called The Incal. It has influenced a ton of modern science fiction films like The Fifth Element, The Matrix and Blade Runner.
In the below video, a 92-year-old Alejandro Jodorowsky shares his excitement about Taika Waititi adapting his graphic novel, saying he’s “exactly the right person” to make The Incal. Check it out:
As noted, the upcoming adaptation joins a long list of projects Taika Waititi is currently working on after wrapping Thor: Love and Thunder and his upcoming soccer comedy Next Goal Wins. The filmmaker has signed on to direct a mysterious Star Wars movie after having previously worked on The Mandalorian. He’s also been attached to an Akira movie, but it’s unclear if he’ll still helm it. He’s also starring in a TV series called Our Flag Means Death, which will feature him playing the dread pirate Blackbeard.
The Incal looks like it could spawn a major and intriguing sci-fi franchise from Taika Waititi, which is super exciting. While the project develops, mark your calendars for Thor: Love and Thunder hitting theaters on July 8, 2022 and check out what other upcoming Marvel movies are on the way.