Since the franchise’s debut in 1977, the Star Wars films and television shows have more or less revolved around the same characters and story webs. Now, nearly 50 years later, people are recognizing that if Star Wars is going to maintain its film legend in current times it’s going to have to come up with some new material, which is exactly what director Taika Waititi is set to do.

Waititi, best known for his directing work in JoJo Rabbit and popular Marvel films like Thor: Ragnarok, is scheduled to direct the first Star Wars film since The Rise of Skywalker, which marked the end of the Skywalker saga upon its release in 2019. With shows like The Mandalorian and Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars has had new media out on Disney+ but hasn’t been back to theaters in nearly three years.

The New Zealand filmmaker is making it known that his goal is to create new characters and new stories to tell on the big screen. In a recent interview, Waititi notes that without new characters and new stories “it feels like it’s a very small story” and he doesn’t feel like he’s being helpful to the universe by making another prequel movie.

Waititi is writing the script alongside Oscar-nominated screenwriter Krysty Wilson-Cairns. No news of casting or production dates have been announced yet.