Taika Waititi has definitely gone big with his directorial efforts in Thor: Ragnarok and is looking to follow that up with a World War 2 satire film titled, Jojo Rabbit. The film consists of a talented cast that is now joined by Logan’s Stephen Merchant who played Caliban in what can be regarded as one of the best superhero films of all time.
Based on the novel Caging Skies, Jojo Rabbit by Christine Leunens, Jojo Rabbit follows a young boy by the name of Jojo Betzler whose best friend is an imaginary version of Adolf Hitler set in the backdrop World War 2. Jojo Rabbit is currently in production and features a cast that includes Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Rebel Wilson, Alfie Allen from Game of Thrones, Thomasin McKenzie from the upcoming Leave No Trace, newcomer Roman Griffin who plays Jojo and of course, Merchant. To top it all off, Waititi himself will be playing Adolf Hitler.
Merchant confirmed his involvement in the film through Instagram. He will reportedly play Gestapo agent, Captain Deertz and his role is understood to be a cameo according to Deadline.
Apart from Waititi’s Ragnarok, which finally saw the Thor series back to its feet following the mediocre Thor: The Dark World has proven to be one hell of a filmmaker. A prime example would be his comedic pieces such as What We Do in the Shadows and Hunt for the Wilderpeople along with his Oscar nominated short film Two Cars, One Night. Merchant himself has been a prominent figure in comedy as an actor, writer and director, having been involved in the acclaimed British version of The Office.
This looks like it’ll be one to look out for and might even garner some controversy which makes it all the more exciting. It’s been some time since we’ve seen a mainstream War satire film on the big screen and Waititi looks like he’ll be able to fill that void. There have been some great War satires before such as Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb and M.A.S.H. Let’s hope that Jojo Rabbit will be able to reach those heights too.
