In relatively quick fashion, Taika Waititi became one of the most influential fan-favorite directors in Hollywood. While his first couple of movies, Eagle vs. Shark and Boy were very New Zealand specific, he reached an all-new audience with What We Do in the Shadows, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, and of course, Thor: Ragnarok. Disney loves him so much they’re not only bringing him back for Thor: Love and Thunder, but after acquiring Fox they held on to sure-to-be controversial WWII satire Jojo Rabbit with plans to drop it during the awards season.
A new Jojo Rabbit features Waititi as a happy, prancing Adolf Hitler, the imaginary friend to a young German boy who is having his patriotism challenged for the first time. It’s a crazy premise that some aren’t going to dig, but if movies have taught us anything it’s that making fun of history’s worst people is a good way to minimize them. That philosophy holds just as well for current-day figures, too.
Waititi wrote, direct, and stars in the film alongside Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Rebel Wilson, Stephen Merchant, Roman Griffin Davis, Thomasin McKenzie, and Alfie Allen. Jojo Rabbit hits theaters on October 18th.
